Adventure In Skyloft
by BlueFrenchHorn97
Summary: Zelda's vanished, and Link's gone to save her... But what if the Knight Academy students had followed Link? What if they refused to let their friend face the dangers alone? Takes place during Skyward Sword, contains 4 OC's, collaboration with PrincesscharmingKnight, Franne, and Knuckles, Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo, contains hints of Zelink.
1. A Missing Friend

**Hi! So BlueFrenchHorn97 here! This story is a collaboration idea I've been planning with PrincesscharmingKnight and Franne, it started out as a role play on Hyrule . net but we decided to turn it into a full blown fanfiction! This story contains 3 OC's that we created for the role play, though one of the OC's won't be appearing right away! This first chapter is told in the point of view of my OC, Callia… enjoy!**

**Thank you to Princess Zelda-figure skater for beta reading!**

* * *

Skyloft has always been a sleepy little town. People here are happy; it's the kind of place where you know your neighbours. Drama is irregular and it always seems to be sunny up here, which is an advantage of living above the clouds. There's something almost fairy tale like about living somewhere so seemingly perfect. The gentle clicking of Beedle's air shop, the soft trickle of the waterfall and quiet chit chat make for a peaceful life for Skyloft's residents. Most people in Skyloft are contented living their day to day lives, some run shops in the local bizarre, some are parents, and some are knights. No one fully understands why Skyloft even needs knights, as no real danger ever faced the land. Their only real purpose is to save the people who fell off the edge of the land, which only happens once in a blue moon. But nevertheless, everyone seems happy.

The closest anyone in Skyloft has ever come to adventure are the students at the Knight Academy. We, the hardworking of us at least, train tirelessly. We're taught how to fight in armed combat with swords and shields; we're trained in how to shoot a bow and arrow and aim a sling shot. We learn all the legends of the Goddess, the Imprisoning war, and the origins of our home. We spend hours each day flying our Loftwings around targets and practising all the special techniques that professor Owlan has taught us.

And yet, on a sunny Friday afternoon, something happens that shakes the whole town. It was supposed to be a special day; one of the kids at our school was getting to graduate to the upper class along with Karane and Pipit. Whoever could win a Loftwing race would graduate, and though there were four competitors, everyone was secretly rooting for Link. I stood watching with Zelda and Leala, no one could miss how Groose and his cronies tried to cheat, throwing eggs at Link as he flew… but none the less, he left victorious. The second he grabbed that statuette Zelda dashed off, excited to start performing the ritual with him, leaving Leala and I to exchange a look. We all knew that Zelda had a crush on Link, it was so blatant, and it was obvious that Link felt the same way about her. Yet neither of them would dare to admit it.

And now, an hour later, I find myself sitting on the benches of the plaza with my friends eating the celebratory pumpkin cake Fledge made for us all.

"Best wing ceremony ever!" Pipit exclaims, throwing a mouthful of pumpkin cake into his mouth and chewing noisily.

"I can't believe Groose was such a cheat though!" Leala says as she scoops the icing off the top of her cake with one pointy finger nail. She flicks her long golden brown plait over her shoulder as she giggles. "Think about it! He cheated, and he still lost! Right Callia?"

"Yeah but that's just Groose!" I shrug. I carefully take a bite of the pumpkin cake, being careful not to let crumbs fall on my white dress. "Wow… this cake is delicious Fledge!" I smile.

"Thanks…" he mutters shyly.

"Yeah…" Karane says, grinning cheekily as she takes another slice. "Link and Zelda better hurry up with that ritual or they'll be no cake left!"

"Hmm…" Pipit glances up at the sun in the sky, shielding his eyes with one hand "They've been gone for an hour… shouldn't they be finished soon?"

"Eh…" Leala shrugs, "They're probably off kissing under the statue of the Goddess!" She says, making us all laugh aloud. It wasn't a secret to anybody in Skyloft that they both liked each other, though Leala liked to tease them about it more than most. I guess that's just part of her charm, she's very cheeky and enjoys a good laugh, but gets very competitive if challenged… let's just say it's easier to stay on her good side.

"For the love of the Goddess what is taking them so long?" I ask, grinning as I lean back, lying down on the warm stone plaza. The sun shines down on us all, allowing me to contentedly smile as I watch the clear blue skies high above. Until suddenly… something catches my attention.

"What in Skyloft is that?" I mutter, frowning as I sit bolt upright again, watching.

"What?" Pipit asks, scanning the area.

"That!" I exclaim, pointing out the sky. Everyone turns, following the direction of my gesture as they all suddenly see what I see. A horrendous brown tornado is bolting through the skies, twisting and turning, out of control.

Karane gets to her feet, taking a few steps closer to the edge. "Is that Link and Zelda?" She asks, squinting to see clearer.

We all hurriedly clamber to our feet, but as I study the situation more carefully, the two figures on Loftwings are clear to see. Link carefully takes his bird's neck, reeling it back away from the twister. Zelda quickly copies him, but it's already too late. She's violently pulled from her bird, down into the base of the twister, away from safety… She shrieks Link's name as she falls, and he dives down, trying to catch her. But there's nothing he can do as his body is propelled away from the twister, thrown right off his Loftwing. We all watch in stunned silence as the twister descends, disappearing beneath the clouds… and taking Zelda with it…

"LINK!" Leala yells, her hands cupping her mouth.

But he makes no attempt to respond, his body limp and unconscious as he falls, plummeting towards the clouds.

"I'm coming for you!" Pipit yells, taking a run for the diving platform, but Karane takes his arm, pointing to Link's Crimson Loftwing, which swoops down underneath him. It catches him effortlessly, before carefully flying closer to Skyloft, taking great care not to let Link fall from its back.

"It's heading for the platform near the river…" Fledge says.

We all break out into a run, sprinting from the plaza and up the path towards the bridge. My mind is brimming with questions… what the hell was that tornado doing here? Where's Zelda? Is she ok? Is Link ok? How did this even happen?"

Pipit is sprinting ahead of us all as we near the platform. Link's Loftwing is just coming into land on the soft grass. His wings are flapping slowly as he comes to a gentle stop, a very weak looking Link accompanying him.

"Oh my Goddess…" Fledge whispers as Pipit approaches, carefully pulling Link from the wheezing Loftwing's back. His face has fallen still, eyes closed, though his expression is creased with concern, like he's having a dream, or a nightmare…

Fledge begins to soothe the Loftwing, straightening out his crumpled feathers as we all crowd around the unconscious Link. Leala carefully pushes his fringe back from his face, before moving on to examining his limbs.

"He's ok…" She mutters eventually. "No broken bones, just some bruises…"

"But what about Zelda?" I ask, looking up into her brown eyes. She shrugs helplessly, unable to maintain eye contact.

Instead of answering, she sighs. "Come on, let's get him back to the academy, Headmaster Geaopora will know what to do."

Pipit carefully takes Link into his arms, carrying him back up the footpath towards the bridge. We all walk in stony silence, no one daring to utter a word. The sun is still shining brightly but suddenly today doesn't seem as brilliant as it did earlier.

"What about Bryarly?" I whisper to Leala, "She was out flying today…"

"It's ok, she went to the north, and the tornado didn't go there… she's ok."

I nod silently as we head up towards the plaza, attracting a few looks from passers-by. The worried expression on Orielle's face is clear as we proceed up the path. But Groose doesn't even look up as we walk by. Eventually, we come to the doors of the academy, and Fledge holds open the large wooden door, letting us all in. Headmaster Geaopora is just about to go down the staircase as we enter, but he stops in his tracks, watching us all, his mouth hanging open a little.

"What happened to him?" He asks, his large figure slowly approaching, a look of concern on his kind, elderly face.

"We don't really know…" I mutter timidly, "His Loftwing brought him back…"

At that moment, Link begins to stir in Pipit's arms, carefully muttering. "Zelda…"

Headmaster Geaopora sighs, closing his eyes. "Take him to his room and put him to bed, once you've done that you should all go to dinner, I'll take care of him."

"But Headmaster…" Leala begins to protests, but Headmaster Geaopora just shakes his head, leading Pipit towards the stair case. We watch them go in silence until they vanish from sight.

Fledge sighs sadly, "Now what?"

"Now… we go do what he said, we go to dinner." I reply.

* * *

And sure enough, a little later, we all find ourselves sat around the wooden tables of the dining room. A bowl of untouched mushroom soup sits in front of me, but I can't bring myself to eat a single mouthful. I glance my eyes around the busy room, watching as Groose holds his bowl up to his lips, drinking directly from the bowl before slamming it back onto the wooden table. I guess he didn't take losing the ceremony too well… I frown, tightening my brow; he shouldn't have cheated if he didn't want to lose.

We all sit in stony silence, no one really saying a word. As I survey my friends I notice that none of them have had a single mouthful of food either. But we all turn our heads, watching as Headmaster Geaopora walks in, slowly approaching Henya, the lunch room lady. He says something to her quietly, to which he receives a grumbled response, but he nods none the less, and turns to us all.

"Due to an unusual turn of events today, the academy is issuing an early curfew tonight. Once you've finished your dinner you should also adjourn immediately to your rooms. Thank you." He says, before nodding curtly and leaving the lunch room, heading towards Link's room again.

Leala sighs. "Something strange is going on here, I know it… I just know it!"

"Yeah… but what can we do about it?" Fledge asks meekly, stirring his soup with his spoon, though I'm pretty sure he hasn't eaten so much as a drop.

"Nothing… yet…" Pipit mutters, "We'll just sit back and wait until we're given some kind of clue, then we'll decide what we're doing… ok?"

Leala nods determinedly, along with Karane. I sigh, but nod too, and Fledge follows behind me.

"Right, for now, I say we all just head to bed." I say, standing up from my seat and grabbing my bowl, taking it over to the sink. Henya always grumbles at us if we don't take our dishes from the table. I sigh, wandering out of the lunch room and along the corridors of the Knight Academy. I cross my arms over my chest, trying to protect myself from the small chill that arises at night time. I change into my pyjamas and brush my teeth in the bath room, before heading to my room, the one that I share with Leala. She's already lying in bed in her nightdress as I arrive; her hair lose around her shoulders and her Knight Academy uniform neatly folded on our shared dresser. She flicks through a copy of an old leather-bound book, presumably one she borrowed from Headmaster Gaepora's personal library as I climb into bed. After an hour or so of reading in silence, we both lay our books on our nightstands and turn out the lights.

I let out a small sigh "Leala?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think they're alright…? Link and Zelda?"

She sighs, and there are a few moments of silence, before she says "I'm sure they'll be fine. Goodnight Callia."

"Night Leala."


	2. Two Missing Friends

**Hello everyone! We're back again with the next chapter, this one is told from the point of view of PrincesscharmingKnight's OC… Leala! Thank you so much for the reviews from ShadowNinja1011, CreCra, and Bleachshowlover1! Also thanks to my amazing collab partners, Franne and PrincesscharmingKnight!**

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As I awoke the following morning, I had almost forgotten the events of the previous day… almost. I sit up in my little wooden bed, running my hands through my hair to push it back from my face as I let out a small yawn. Callia is already awake, sat at the dresser plaiting her soft blonde hair. She's already dressed for the day, wearing her signature white cotton dress, knee high brown leather boots and three quarter length sleeved suede jacket. Once she's content with her plait she picks up her favourite gold necklace and slips it over her neck, before turning to me and giving me a bright smile.

"Good morning Leala!"

"What's good about it?" I moan, flopping back in my bed.

She sighs, rolling her eyes "Get up sleepy head! We've got a flying lesson at nine!"

I let out an indecipherable moan, rolling over a burying my face in my pillows. I don't do mornings.

Callia laughs "Fine, I'm going to go get some breakfast. Then I'm going to go see how Link's doing. But you might want to get up before Instructor Horwell comes round for room inspection!"

I grunt again, lazily waving my hand as Callia makes her way towards out the bedroom door. Her leather boots tapping on the ground as she goes. I sigh, dragging myself up from the warmth and comfort of my own bed. I stumble across the hall to the bathroom, taking my clothes for the day with me. I run a bowl of cold water and wash my face and hands, taking care not to let it splash all over the floor so Henya won't grumble at me. I then grab a brush and drag it back through my unruly hair, before tying it back into a bun. I take a quick bath and dress myself, then leave the bathroom feeling much more refreshed.

"Hey Leala!" Karane says, giving me a bright smile as we cross paths in the hallway.

"Hey Karane." I reply, smiling back.

She pauses on her path for a moment, turning back to me "Have you spoken to Link yet?"

"No…" I mumble "Though Callia's planning on dropping in on him this morning; I was hoping to catch up with her."

"Oh, ok…" she says "Well I'll be in just as soon as I've freshened up!"

"Great!" I reply as she turns, proceeding into the bathroom. Just as I'm about to head over to Link's room, I feel a soft tapping on my shoulder. I turn immediately, only to find Bryarly stood behind me, her blue eyes sparkling like it isn't eight o'clock in the morning.

"Bryarly!" I exclaim "Where have you been? I couldn't find you anywhere!"

She laughs lightly "I took my Loftwing out for a long flight around all the little islands. Did you know that there are all kinds of weird chests everywhere?"

"They've always been there," I say "It's just that no one knows how to open them! But hey, you didn't come home last night, are you ok?"

"Fine!" She laughs dismissively "I lost track of time and before I knew it, it was dark! So I landed my loftwing at the Lumpy Pumpkin and Kina let me stay there for the night!"

I sigh, a little relieved as I pull her into a tight hug, "Well I'm just glad you're ok!"

"So…" she says, giving my arm a little squeeze "Who won the wing ceremony yesterday? What did I miss?"

"A lot…" I sigh, taking her by the arm "Everything got kind of crazy yesterday…"

I take her arm, guiding her over to one of the benches and sitting down with her. I tell her the whole story, everything from the pumpkin cake right through to curfew. I watch as her expression changes to one of shock and disbelief.

"So… wait… how's Link?" She asks, frowning with concern.

"I don't know, me and Callia are going to go pay him a visit just as soon as she's done with breakfast. Want to come along with us?"

"Of course! He's my friend!" Bryarly responds as we both get to our feet. We quickly walk down the stairs, looking into the kitchen. Callia is sat at the table with a clean plate in front of her; she's talking to Fledge as we make our way into the room.

"Hey! Callia!" I call out "Are you coming to see Link?"

"Yeah! Of course! Excuse me Fledge…" she mutters, climbing to her feet. She quickly dashes over to the kitchen area, laying her plate by the sink, before meeting us. The three of us slowly walk to the other side of the academy. The door to Link's room is open just a crack, nothing but darkness showing through the small gap.

"What the…?" Bryarly mumbles quietly, giving us all a confused look.

I reach out one hand, grasping the door handle and pushing open his bedroom door, but the room before me is empty. It's dimly lit, but Callia flicks the light switch, allowing us to see more clearly. His bed sheets are crumpled, creased, showing he was here at least some point in the night. Yet his room is cluttered, almost empty, clothes and shoes missing from his open closet, potions and bottles taken from his shelf, and bookshelves ransacked.

"What happened here?" I ask, glancing at his empty room.

"And where's Link?" Callia murmurs.

"Oh no… something's happened here…" I murmur, panic already swelling in my stomach. "I'm going to get headmaster Geaopora…" I turn heel, running away from the room and sprinting down the corridors. I hear loud footsteps behind me as Callia and Bryarly follow me in hot pursuit. Pipit is wandering down the halls, flicking through his Loftwing flying handbook.

"Hey guys!" He says, giving us a bright smile, but I just shove past, hurrying towards Headmaster Gaeopora's office.

"HEADMASTER!" I shout, knocking loudly on the door.

"PLEASE OPEN UP!" Callia calls.

The door is quickly pulled open as Pipit catches up to us.

"What's happened?" Headmaster Geaopora asks.

"Yeah, can you tell me too?" Pipit says, frowning as he hurriedly glances around.

"Link's gone!" I exclaim "His room's been ransacked; all his stuff is missing… I think he might have gone to find Zelda!"

We all stare at Headmaster Geaopora, waiting for him to react. To tell us to go search the sky for him, to ring the academy's warning bells, to tell us not to panic, but he doesn't.

"I know." He says calmly "He has."

I glance between my friends, though they seem just as confused as I am "What?"

"Something happened last night; I can't explain it right now. But trust me, you've got nothing to worry about, he's safe, both he and Zelda are."

"Wait… so where are they?" Bryarly asks, taking a step closer to the headmaster.

"That doesn't matter. They're safe, now you'd all better get to your flying lessons." Headmaster Geaopora says, turning away.

"But sir…"

"Go to your lessons!" He says, giving us a gentle but stern look. I sigh, being forced to accept defeat.

* * *

The town is quiet, peaceful and content as ever. The windmills on the south of the town are clicking softly as our group of Knight Academy students make their way down the steps of the school. Professor Owlan is waiting by the wooden diving platform as we arrive at the bottom of the steps. His hands are clasped peacefully behind his back as he gives us a steady nod, smiling peacefully.

"Good morning students!" He says cheerfully as he claps his hands together. "Today, we'll be learning about using the speed windows within rocks throughout the sky. Now, does anyone know the purpose of these windows?"

I glance over at Karane, but she just gives me a shrug. From the back of the group Fledge meekly raises his hand. Professor Owlan gives him a nod, and Fledge mumbles "If you fly through the middle of the windows you can get a large speed boost."

"Correct!" Professor Owlan exclaims, grinning. "Now, if you'd all like to mount your Loftwings, we'll fly over to the nearest speed window. Do not attempt to fly through just yet! We'll talk more when we arrive… ok! Off you go!"

Loud chatter erupts as students dive from the platforms, whistling for their birds. There's a flash of colour as Loftwing's fly in from all directions. I grin, running to the platform and leaping over the edge. My stomach churns with excitement as I free fall, arms spread wide. I quickly bring my fingers to my lips, letting rip with a loud whistle. As if from nowhere, my bright blue Loftwing arrives, diving underneath me so I can safely land on her strong back.

"Come on girl…" I murmur, a smile spreading across my lips. Flying gives me a sense of freedom I just can't get with my feet on the ground. There's something so enjoyable about swooping around the skies with the wind running right through you. My heart thumps harder with all the adrenaline as I dig my knees into my bird a little, not enough to hurt, just enough to let her know to give me a small speed boost. She coo's happily, flapping her wings and propelling me through the sky. I let out a wild laugh as I shoot through the air, fasting then a speeding bullet.

"Out of the way slow coach!" Groose shouts, catching up behind me, his red pompadour ruffling in the wind.

"Not this time Groose…" I mutter, momentarily raising my eyebrows. I'm about to dig in my knees again when I hear a shout from behind me, someone calling my name.

"LEALA!"

I sigh "Not right now!"

"LEALA!" The voice shouts again. I turn around, sighing. But it's Pipit calling for me. He, Karane, Callia, and Bryarly have all come to a halt, their birds flapping aimlessly as they sit in the sky.

Groose whooshes past me, cackling with laughter. I scowl, there's nothing I hate more than losing a Loftwing race "What is it?" I call out.

"Look over there!" Callia shouts, pointing to the left.

"What am I looking for…" I shout, but my voice trails into silence as I spot it. A green column of light jets through the sky, brighter than anything I've ever seen before. It pierces through the cloud barrier, and shoots up higher than the eye can see. I feel my mouth drop open as I stare at it.

What in Skyloft is that?

* * *

"Are you sure you can't tell us what that beam of light was?" I ask Professor Owlan, my Loftwing gently flapping as it lands on the soft Skyloft soil.

"I'm certain," he says, sighing "Sorry."

"It's not your fault…" I mutter, though I can't help feeling a little disappointed. I turn, watching as my friends all land their Loftwing's too. I'm about to suggest we go ask Headmaster Geaopora about it, when suddenly, a loud ringing shakes through Skyloft.

I frown, whipping around, but sure enough, it's the assembly bells of the Knight Academy… whenever they ring it means that all students should report to the classroom immediately.

"What now?" Bryarly asks, whining a little.

"I don't know… come on!" I call out to my friends.

We all break out into a run, dashing up the steps to the Knight Academy. Pipit wrenches open the front doors and we all sprint the halls, desperate to know what's going on here. As we arrive in the classroom, Headmaster Geaopora, Henya the lunch lady, Knight Commander Eagus, and Instructor Horwell are all already stood inside waiting for us.

"What's happened?" Pipit asks.

"Take a seat…" Instructor Horwell commands, gesturing the wooden desks.

We all carefully settle around the front desk, and as Professor Owlan, Groose, and his cronies arrive, they all stand or sit around the room too.

Headmaster Geaopora sighs sadly "A strange event happened last night. I can't quite explain it to you, as it's a very complex issue. But for now I shall simply say this, unfortunately, my lovely daughter Zelda had disappeared from Skyloft. No one quite knows for sure what's happened to her, but brave young Link had gone to find her and bring her home safely. Now, I'm sure you're all worried, after all, Link and Zelda will be treasured friends or at least classmates of you all, but do not worry. Link is a brave young man and is quite capable of looking after himself and Zelda, they're safe, trust me."

I sigh, clenching my fists on the table as he talks. I can't believe this… two of my best friends disappear with next to no explanation and I'm just supposed to sit back and accept it?

"Now, I have very important rules that every one of you must follow if you want to continue training at the academy." The Headmaster continues "Number one, a chamber has recently opened within the Goddess statue, and you are under no circumstances permitted to go there. And number two, you do not under any circumstances to fly around the green pillar of light in the sky that I'm sure you've all seen, it's completely unsafe." He looks around at us all, giving us his sternest expression. "Anyone caught breaking these rules will be immediately expelled. That is all."

The room sits in silence as Headmaster Geaopora leaves; honestly we're all a little stunned by his sudden firmness. I sigh, shaking my head a little as people begin getting to their feet to leave.

I quickly take Bryarly by the sleeve, turning her back to face me "Meeting in my room at midnight… spread the word…"


	3. The Meeting

**Here we are again guys! Third chapter and ready to get into the story! Thanks to ShadowNinja1011, Hanyoualchemist1, Guest, Neez, and CreCra! And also thank you to my amazing collab partners Franne and PrincesscharmingKnight! This chapter is told in the point of view of Franne's OC, Bryarly! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

The darkness descends over the island known as Skyloft, drawing an end to the day for most of its citizens. Ruffled floral print curtains close and lights go out in every home. Drapes are hung over the entrance to the bizarre, and Headmaster Gaepora locks the lower doors of the academy. All throughout the island, the only light to guide comes from the few flaming torches scattered around pathways, and the occasional fireflies buzzing around the lake. The only Loftwings still flying are the ones that are specially trained to fly at night. Their gifted riders swoop and dive through the skies on their birds, searching the island for anyone in need of help, though this was an extremely rare occurrence. Most of Skyloft's people are just snuggling down in their warm comfortable beds, even Beedle has settled down on his own little island to sleep. There's just one place in Skyloft not at peace, and that's here, at the Knight Academy.

"Ouch! That's my foot!" Karane hisses as she, Fledge, and I slowly tiptoe through the dark halls of the Knight Academy.

"Sorry…" Fledge mutters guiltily.

"Shh!" I say quietly, holding one finger up to my lips to signal that they should stop talking, "You'll wake one of the teachers!"

"Sorry…" Karane mouths.

Eventually, we come to a stop just outside the door to Leala and Callia's room. I take a deep breath, and reach up one hand to knock, but then change my mind and decide not to in case I wake anyone. I carefully grip the door handle, pushing open the creaky wooden door. The view I'm immediately met with is clear. Callia and Pipit sit on Leala's bed, and she stands tall and proud in the middle of the room, hands resting on hips. She turns her head as we arrive, her hazel-brown eyes meeting mine as she gives an acknowledged nod. Pipit and Callia appear to be having a whispered conversation, but even that can't distract me from the butterflies flitting around in my stomach, creating waves of nerves that ripple through my body.

I carefully close the door behind me, and Leala nods matter-of-factually as she looks around at us all. "Ok, we're all here, good. Let me just start by saying that I think Headmaster Geapora is completely out of line. Two of our best friends go missing, and he just wants us to sit here and do nothing about it?"

Callia looks up from where she sits; worry in her deep brown eyes. "Well what do you plan to do about it?"

"WE!" Leala replies. "WE are going to follow Link and help him!"

"Are you crazy!?" Callia shouts, before suddenly remembering the late hour and calming herself down again.

I sigh, "Callia has a point! Zelda fell below the cloud barrier, and no one has ever been there before! We don't even know for certain if there's anything down there!"

Leala just laughs in response. "How much do you guys know about the Imprisoning war?"

Karane frowns deeply, "Lots… we've studied it in History extensively!"

"Exactly!" Leala smirks, "And where did the Imprisoning war take place?"

"The surface!" Fledge suddenly pipes up, beaming ecstatically.

"My point exactly." Leala replies, grinning smugly. "Look… I just think that we have to do something. Link and Zelda are our friends, and they need our help! We're knights! We're supposed to be brave!"

Callia sighs, rubbing her fingertips on her temples. "Knights IN TRAINING! And may I remind you that Link is best in our class? He can look after himself, even Headmaster Geapora said so! This is crazy, tell her it's crazy, Pipit!"

Suddenly, Pipit stands up from the bed, looking around at us all. "I have to admit that I'm with Leala," he says, as Leala begins to silently celebrate. "Sure Link's great with a sword, but what if a group of enemies all come for him at once? He can't defend from all angles; he doesn't have eyes in the back of his head!"

I sit in silence, watching Callia and Fledge debating against going, and Leala, Pipit and Karane arguing to go. Honestly I'm torn about what to do; I want to go help Link… I mean… what if he's in danger? I couldn't bear it if Link got hurt. Of course I couldn't tell them all the real reason why I wanted to go help him. I wouldn't dare admit to them that I have feelings for Link… they all think he belongs with Zelda. But regardless of my personal motives, a friend needs our help.

"I think we should go…" I murmur, watching as an array of different facial expressions greets me.

Callia sighs, brushing her now messy blonde hair back from her eyes. "Fine, ok! Ok! But let me just say this, suppose we go, and suppose by some miracle we survive the fall through the cloud barrier without breaking our necks. How in Skyloft are we going to convince our parents and teachers to let us go? Remember, Headmaster Geapora strictly forbade us from going anywhere near that gap in the cloud barrier near the column of light! How do you plan to work around that?"

Leala smirks. "Simple, we don't give them a chance to stop us!" We all sit in silence, staring at her as we try to figure out what she means. She laughs casually and says, "We leave a note in each of our rooms explaining where we've gone and why. Then we leave at first light before everyone is up so that they won't see us leave… they'll just find the notes! And by that time… it'll be too late to stop us!"

I stare at her with wide eyes. "You're a secret agent in disguise aren't you?"

She just laughs, looking around at us all hopefully. "Ok, who's in?" She asks, stretching her arm out and placing her hand in the middle of us all, palm down.

Pipit nods, jumping to his feet immediately. "Me!" He carefully places his hand on top of hers. Karane grins and does the same.

"I'll help, Link and Zelda need us!" I say, slapping my hand onto the pile.

"Me too…" Fledge says quietly, carefully slipping his hand on top of mine.

Everyone turns to look at Callia hopefully. She scoffs aloud, rolling her eyes. "I'm not one hundred percent sure of the idea, but Link needs our help. Besides, someone's got to keep you lot in line! Fine! I'm in!" She giggles, putting her hand in place and finishing off the pile.

We all grin, buzzing with silent excitement as we ready ourselves.

"SKY-LOFT-KNIGHTS!" We all chant, before sweeping our hands up above our heads.

"Meet at first light outside the upper doors of the school!" Leala shouts to us all as we turn to leave, "Bring all your weapons, tools and potions! We're going to need them!"

* * *

The sun rises slowly over Skyloft, sending streaks of light along those clear, blue skies. The small town is illuminated in bath of golden sunshine, yet the sleepy little village is still at peace as its residents only begin to stir in their all too comfortable beds. No one has dared to venture out of their houses yet, and the only people around are the knights on early morning patrol.

I wake with a start to the sound of Leala and Callia hurrying around on the other side of the thin partition that separates our bedrooms. I rub my bleary eyes as I try to cast my mind back over why I'm being awoken at this hour. That's when the memories of the past few days flicker in my head. Scene's burst through my mind like flashbacks and echoes, the tornado, Link, Zelda, the green column of light… and last night's meeting.

I stare around my room, taking in my bags that I packed last night, my clothes that lie folded on the chair beneath the cracks of sunlight streaming through my window. My shelves and drawers all empty, my bow and arrow, practice sword, and potions are tucked safely inside my adventure pouch, ready for me to take and instantaneously leave.

I take a deep breath, pulling myself out of bed and climbing slowly to my feet, stretching a few times to loosen out my joints. Once my muscles are all awake, I shake myself out and stoop down to check that I've packed everything. Ok… red potion, spare uniforms, my sword, a wooden shield from the bizarre, and my wallet… perfect! It's all here! I quickly take my hair, pulling it back from my face and changing into my uniform.

I'm about to grab my adventure pouch when suddenly there's a gentle knock and the door to my bedroom is pulled open. Leala and Callia stand on the other side, smiling brightly and watching me.

"Are you ready to go?" Leala asks, poking her head around the door.

"Yup!" I reply cheerfully, popping the 'p' as I make my way over to the door. I walk out of my room, closing the door slowly behind me. I glance at my two best friends, Callia stands tall and proud, her long blonde hair pulled into a plait over her shoulder. She's dressed in her favourite long white cotton dress with a blown suede jacket and a golden Goddess crest pendant. Next to her stands Leala. Her golden-brown hair is pushed back into a messy bun as she straightens her purple fitted shirt, she's wearing that, and her brown trousers with black boots. Both girls have adventure pouches hung from their belts, and give me bright smiles.

"Let's go!" Leala says, wrapping her arm around my waist as we make our way down the hallway. We all have to tiptoe past the teacher's rooms, especially Headmaster Geapora, who wakes at even the tiniest noise. Once we're down the staircase and away from the teacher's rooms, we break out into a run. Our feet thump against the floor as we dash for the front door, pulling it open and stepping outside.

"Hi guys!" Fledge says, giving us a weak smile. I glance around at the rest of my friends, Karane has sleep in her eyes, and her two ponytails are fairly loose, showing she rushed to get ready. Pipit on the other hand, is standing up tall, looking alert and ready to take on anything.

"Are we ready to go?" Leala asks, looking around at us all.

"Hold on!" Fledge interrupts, "One more thing before we go…" he carefully fumbles through his adventure pouch, producing six squares of folded materials, handing one to each of us. He smiles meekly. "These are sailcloths, they'll make our landing safer when we go through the cloud barrier.

"Thanks Fledge!" Callia grins, giving him a bright smile as she slips the cloth into her adventure pouch.

* * *

The wind is whistling through my hair, causing me to shiver in the cool, early morning light. I grip tight onto the feathers of my brown loft wing as we soar through the open sky, towards that green column of light.

"Is everyone ok?" Pipit asks, turning back to look at us all. The yellow hat of his Knight Academy uniform billows in the wind, rustling back and forth. I give him a thumbs up, and we both come to a stop just around the green barrier of light. Leala is already waiting there, and Fledge, Callia, and Karane follow in just behind us. I carefully lean forward on my loftwing, glancing through the gaping hole in the cloud barrier. The land I can see below is lush, green, beautiful, like some sort of paradise. I can already see from here that it's much more vast than all of Skyloft, maybe even of all the lands of the sky combined… my stomach churns as I suddenly realise the dramatic drop before us.

"Is everybody ready?" Leala asks.

Fledge shakes his head, his face turning a little green. But an encouraging smile from Callia soon sees him happy.

"Ok… on the count of three, everybody jump! Have your sailcloth's ready… 3… 2… 1… GO!"


	4. The Surface

**We're back again guys with chapter 3! I think this story is going to be updated weekly just because we all have our own stories to work on, as well as all our school work ect. Either way, we need to say a big thank you to our lovely reviewers! That's CreCra, ShadowNinja1011, theheartsbeat, and Neez! Anyway! It's time to get onto the story now that they've all jumped through the cloud barrier… this chapter is done in the point of view of my OC, Callia!**

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My stomach churns as I swallow hard. This is it Callia, this is your chance to prove just what you can do. I close my eyes and quickly swing my left leg over my loftwing, diving off the right hand side. My stomach begins to churn as I feel myself free falling, screams ripping from my throat. I can hear the sound of Fledge falling with a loud yell as I quickly look around me. It's hard to see properly with wind making me want to close my eyes, but upon a quick scan I can see all my friends falling with me. Pipit desperately clings onto his pointed yellow hat and Karane is wildly flailing her arms.

I turn, looking at the surface below us. A lush green paradise is spread out like a blanket over a bed… it's so big, far vaster than all of Skyloft, and probably all the surrounding islands too. How has no one ever been down here before? Why does no one know about this? Trees and various other plants cover the blanket of green, and I can even see a couple of buildings thrust high into the air. My eyes scan over complex structures, beautiful lakes, gushing waterfalls and thick forests…

Ok, this is it. I screw my eyes shut, twisting my arm behind me and allowing myself to blindly search through my adventure pouch. Eventually, my fingers touch the soft fabric of the sailcloth that Fledge made for me. With one final deep breathe, I whip out the make-shift parachute and feel my fall suddenly slow. I breathe a sigh of relief, feeling my skin begin to warm now that I'm not hurtling towards the ground. I grip tight onto the corners of the sailcloth, glancing downwards to see what's below me.

The view I'm immediately met with is of a small path made out of pale grey stones. Moss grows between the cracks and I can see thin metal fences on one side. There's a slightly more rounded open area directly below me. But before I get a chance to have a better look at the rest of the area, I feel my feet land on solid ground. I breathe a sigh of relief, feeling glad to know I survived that massive fall. My sailcloth domes in around head as I land, filling my view with white fabric. It takes me a few moments of struggle to pull it away from my head, but eventually I manage. As I carefully fold the sailcloth away into my adventure pouch and begin to smooth out my messy hair, my friends all begin landing around me.

I turn away, giving them a few moments to sort themselves out as I rest my hands on the metal railings, scanning the rest of the area. There's a large pit laid out just in front of me, spiralling away from my view. I lean a little further over the edge, casting my gaze downwards to where a thick stone spike sits in the direct centre of the pit. I frown, noticing the triangular mark that surrounds it… peculiar.

"Look at this place!" Leala exclaims, running over to join me behind the railings "You could probably fit the whole of the isle of the Goddess into that spiral! Just imagine how big the rest of this place is!"

"Well, why imagine?" Karane grins, slipping her sailcloth away "Let's go find out!"

I feel an uncontrollable grin spreading across my face as we set off down the pathway, with Pipit and Leala walking at the front. It's thrilling, exciting… we're going on a real life adventure! We've all read about the surface before, we all know it's where the imprisoning war with the Demon King took place. We've heard all the fairy tales and all the legends. And up until now, that's all I knew: I thought they were nothing but children's tales. It turns out… our bedtime stories we heard growing up were all too real…

I swallow hard, pushing that thought to the back of my mind. The reason that we're here is to help Link and Zelda. I should know not to let my curiosity get the better of me. After all, I'm not that gifted with a sword. I love flying Loftwings. I adore reading learning all the history of our home… but when it comes to wielding a sword or aiming a bow… frankly I'm less than useless. That's why I need to stick with my friends. If I got caught alone down here, then I'd be done for.

Suddenly, I'm distracted from my own thoughts by a loud, unattractive, squelching sound. From the path in front of us springs up a large plant. Bryarly lets out a yelp of surprise and Pipit draws his sword from its scabbard. The creature bears a large blue head with vicious slavering jaws. Its teeth are sharp and jagged, lining the rims of its jaws. A long pointed tongue slithers inside its mouth as it slowly sways back and forth, judging which of us to attack first.

A frown of determination crosses Pipit's face as he lets rip with a vertical strike to the beast. It falters for a few moments, closing its jaws and shaking its head, but quickly returns to normal.

"Its outer skin is too tough," Pipit mutters "What am I meant to do?"

Before any of us can come up with a sensible response; the beast strikes. It lashes out at Pipit, wrapping his waist in its giant jaws. He's startled as it begins gnawing at his torso, but luckily for him, Leala is quick to react.

She reaches out one hand, gripping Pipit's forearm and wrenching him back from the creature. His tunic is dirtied from the disgusting yellow-green saliva of this demented plant, and he might get a few bruises around his ribs… but he seems largely unharmed. Meanwhile, the plant has turned on Leala. It takes a dive for her, but she's already prepared. She raises her shield and uses it to bash and stun the creature, just like Knight Commander Eagus taught us. The beast sways backwards, temporarily paralysed. Leala uses this time to slash at it stem, causing its oversized head to collapse to the ground.

We all watch in stunned silence as the remnants of that created evaporate into a puff of purple smoke that fades into the open air. Fledge breathes an audible sigh of relief as me and Karane help Pipit back up to his feet. Leala smiles, tossing her golden pony tail back over her shoulder as she gives Pipit a bright smile.

"Are you ok?" She asks.

"Yeah…" he mutters, a little stunned "Nice going there Leala. Thanks!"

"Don't mention it!" She replies, clapping him on the back. I roll my eyes; Leala has always been one of the best in our knight academy. She's only ever really been second to Link, though she puts up a pretty tough fight whenever they sword train together. She's one of the best when it comes to armed combat. Plus, she's a skilled bird rider, but she struggles when it comes to the ancient histories… well I suppose we all have our weaknesses.

We press on, continuing to advance down the path. Three more of the gruesome plants spring up from the ground as we near them, but between Leala, Pipit and Karane, they quickly tackle the monsters. Eventually, we reach what appears to be the end of the pathway. The ledge cuts off almost directly, leaving just a steep drop to a lower layer, where two large double doors stand, with a large orange mark on the doorway.

"Hey," I say, nudging Bryarly "where do you think those doors lead?"

"I'm not sure…" she shrugs.

"Come on then!" Karane says sharply "What are we waiting for?"

Pipit sighs, lowering himself down to a sitting position. We all watch him roll over in silence, until he's lying flat on his stomach. He wriggles very slowly and carefully, lowering himself off the edge of the slope until he's just holding on by his hands. Then he loosens his grip, dropping down to the lower level. Karane frowns, pushing ahead of us all.

"Pipit?" she asks, "Are you ok?"

"Yup!" he shouts up from where he stands below us "Now come on! You all have to drop down too!"

Slowly, one by one, we all copy Pipit's actions and lower ourselves gently down the slope. First Leala, then Karane, Bryarly, me, and finally: Fledge. He falls down next to me, landing rather amusingly directly on his back side. I let out a small giggle and help him to his feet as I look at our surroundings. We're in exactly the same place, just a layer lower. The ground is much grassier here, and there's large wooden decking a little further ahead where all our friends have already set off towards the edge of the pit. I frown, jogging to catch up with them.

"Shall we go down there?" I ask, arriving at Bryarly's side.

"I don't think we need to," Karane says, crossing her arms.

"Why not?" I ask "Link would go down there! He's always eager to explore everything! Remember one time he spent four weeks flying around the skies to make sure he knew every island?"

"Yeah," Karane says "But we can see from up here that the pit is empty! There's nothing in there apart from the spike… no Link!"

I sigh, feeling my heart sink a little at the last two words. A part of me hoped we could find him and Zelda quickly, but I guess adventures aren't meant to be easy. Another little part of me was curious too, I wanted to see what was down there. But I suppose we can save that for another day, it's not like when we find Link we'll be forgetting about this place. I'm pretty sure we'll all be coming back to explore it even more…

"Ok then…" Bryarly says "If we're not going to look down there, why don't we head towards that big temple?"

"Temple it is!" Leala exclaims, marching on ahead of the rest of us. She confidently strides towards those large double doors. I exchange a look with Bryarly as we begin to follow Leala. That girl seriously knows no fear… she's almost too confident, almost.

We leave the grassier patch, crossing over onto more stony ground. Two torches are lit on tripods either side of the door. I frown, using the flames to take a closer look at the pattern on the door. It's a large, very stylistic eye. Three single triangles stem away from the eye that could be seen as lashes, and more spread out towards each corner. It looks heavy… I turn back around to look at my friends, only to find Fledge staring up at the ceiling.

I frown "What are you looking at, Fledge?"

"That ceiling looks familiar…" he mumbles as I chew my lower lip… he kind of has a point. I've seen that domed roof somewhere before…

"We don't have time for this! The more time we waste, the further ahead Link gets!" Leala says "Pipit, you're strong, help me open the door!"

He sighs, but reluctantly nods. The two of them turn their back to the wood, pushing all their weight into opening the heavy doors that block our path. There's a loud creaking noise that echoes in the room ahead as the doors move on their rusted hinges. But that doesn't matter now, because we've got a way onwards.


	5. The Sealed Temple

**Here we are again! Ready for chapter to four, where they enter the sealed temple! Big thank you to CreCra, ShadowNinja1011, theheartsbeat, and Neez! Also wanted to say I LOVE YOU to my amazing collab partners, PrincesscharmingKnight and Franne! Anyway, this chapter is told in the point of view of PrincesscharmingKnight's OC, Leala! Enjoy!**

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With a loud creak and a lot of effort, the large wooden doors slowly open. I glance back at my friends, who all look apprehensive and nervous. It's not a great idea to be so nervous about this all if you ask me. The way I see it, we do some exploring, adventuring, the stuff we've always dreamed of doing together. Then we'll find Link, and then Zelda and everything will be fine! We go back home and tell everyone the story of our amazing adventure! Simple! I try to silence the little voice in the back of my mind that tells me that it's never going to be simple. I don't want to listen to that kind of negativity, so I press on.

As our group of trainee knights enter the temple, I think it's fair to say that we're all astounded. The room is huge in scope, with vines and mosses growing all up the walls and the stonework. There's a lingering musty smell of earth as we walk deeper into the room. To my left I can see another smaller side room, with a large area for growing plants. And laid out right in front of me is a large set of stone steps that sweep dramatically upwards, leading towards a set of rather grand looking double doors. And there… stood right in front of those doors, is a tiny figure.

The figure is cloaked in a large red piece of fabric, donning a pointed hood. Their back is turned to us, so I can't tell if they're friend of foe… from beside me, Pipit draws his sword from its scabbard apprehensively… he wants to be ready to attack if a problem occurs. The noise of the blade scraping against its scabbard has obviously alerted the figure… and we all watch in anticipating silence as the figure turns to face us.

I'm a little taken aback as I suddenly realise that it's an elderly lady. I swallow hard as Pipit softly replaces his sword in its scabbard. I study her more carefully, her long pointed cape sports similar orange triangular patterns as the doors to the temple. I also pay careful close attention to her braid. It's wrapped around her head multiple times, and swings rhythmically back and forth like the pendulum of a clock.

A stunned breath passes through the elderly woman's lips as she lays eyes on us all. There are a few moments of silence. Neither party is entirely sure what to say…

Eventually, the elderly woman speaks "You… you are children of the sky, no?"

I frown "Children of the sky? What's that supposed to mean?"

Bryarly steps forward "We come from the sky, yes…"

"Come forth," the elderly woman says "it is foolish for us to speak at this distance,"

She extends one thin hand, gesturing for us all to come closer. My friends and I exchange baffled looks for a few moments, unsure of what to do. Eventually, Karane nods, urging us to walk forward. I silently obey. This is surreal to say the least; I feel like I'm reading a book, or acting out a play, it doesn't feel like this could ever really be happening. Could I be dreaming? I hold up my own arm, pinching the skin as I approach. No… this is definitely real. As we reach the top of the mossy steps, the elderly woman gives us a slow nod. Her small eyes look up at us all; she looks tired, old, but full of knowledge.

"I believe I know why you have come here," She says, her voice is deep and dry as she speaks, being careful to annunciate each word.

"Why's that?" Bryarly asks cautiously.

"You have come in search of your friends… to find the ones you call Link and Zelda."

I feel my face light up as she says their names "Yes!" I exclaim "They're the ones we're looking for!"

A small, knowing smile spread across the woman's lips as she nods to us all. "Do not fear, your friend Zelda will be quite safe. She has many agents assisting her."

Pipit leans forward a little, crossing his arms inquisitively "Agents?"

Callia coughs loudly, trying to attract our attention "More importantly, what about Link? Is he safe?"

The elderly woman slowly lowers her head, and says "Provided the young hero can overcome the trials laid out before him, he will return safely."

"That doesn't sound promising…" Fledge mumbles, his voice barely audible in this huge room.

"Do not fear," the elderly lady replies "he is on the fated path, and is quite safe from harm. The goddess' agent is assisting him, though he must have courage to face what lies ahead."

I take a step closer towards her, my heart swelling with determination "What _does_ lie before him?"

The elderly woman narrows her eyes as she speaks "You are far too inquisitive young warrior. Did no one ever tell you that curiosity killed the remlit?"

"That's an old wives tale," I spit "Now please listen. My friends and I have travelled from the sky in search of our friends. Agents or no agents, we wish to assist him in finding Zelda. All we ask of you is which way he went."

She stares at me in silence for a few moments, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. But after a few seconds pass, her expression softens into one of relief and acceptance.

"You display great determination young warrior," she says "I am impressed by your valour. I must warn you that the path of the young hero is not for the faint hearted. It is dangerous… and although your arrival was never foretold in the plan of the Goddess, you show great determination."

I stand a little straighter as I mull over her words. I don't understand the mention of the plan of the Goddess… but it seems as though she is complimenting us.

She nods slowly "The place you currently stand is known as the Sealed Temple. The lands you just passed from are the Sealed Grounds, the place where a great evil now slumbers. You must pass through the doors to your right into Faron woods. There, with any luck, in the great depths of the woods, you will find the young hero."

"Thank you," Callia says, bowing her head a little in thanks.

"There are many creatures out in the woods." The elderly lady continues "some are friends, and will aid you in your search. But you must know that there are a great number of evil beings too, more dangerous than the deku baba's you will have met in the sealed grounds. Stay together, and be swift. May the grace of the Goddess bear you on your path."

We all say our thanks to the elderly lady as we proceed down the steps within the temple. My mind is whirring. What did she mean about the Goddess? Do they worship the same Goddess down here on the surface as we do up in Skyloft? Does she mean Hylia? Or maybe there's something else that I'm missing… I don't know. But right now, all I really care about is Link and Zelda. She said we could find Link deep within the woods… only; I can't help but wonder exactly how big these woods will be…

Eventually our party reach the set of double doors that mark the second exit to the temple. These are much less fanciful than those we passed before. They are simple and plain with little golden handles, rather more similar to the ones we have back home in Skyloft. I reach out, seizing the door handle and pushing open the door. I'm immediately faced with a blindingly bright light. At least… it's bright compared to the darkness of that enclosed temple we came from.

One by one we filter out into the open. Fledge, being last to leave, closes the door behind him. I look around me, taking in my surroundings as I try to understand what's going on here. We stand in a small area paved with square stone slabs. Large stone walls stand just a few feet from each other on either side, and another set of stone steps leading upwards is laid out before us. I can see tree tops and rolling green grass just above the steps.

"Wow…" Callia breathes "This place is huge!"

"I know!" Pipit replies, "So, shall we push on?"

"Hold on…" I murmur, holding my arm out to halt my friends momentarily. "What do you think she meant with all that talk of the Goddess?"

"I don't know," Karane shrugs "But come on! I want to go explore!"

"Just wait!" Bryarly says "I'm with Leala. I mean, she talked about agents, the fated path, the goddess… did any of this make sense to you?"

"No..." Fledge murmurs "She called Link the 'young hero'. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah, yeah," Pipit sighs "the old lady spoke in riddles. Come one! We can figure out what she meant on the way! We need to find Link and Zelda as soon as possible!"

I feel a small smile on my lips "I guess Pipit's right. After all, I am really eager to start exploring!"

"Come on then!" Karane beams, "let's go!"

We all race up the stone steps into a larger clearing. My mind is racing as my heart pumps adrenaline through my veins. This is amazing, this is the kind of adventuring that I've always dreamt of doing. When I was a kid I would read adventure books. I'd draw pictures of me and my friends taking on a great adventure. But my mind never fathomed that there'd really be a whole other world below the cloud layer… I never imagined my stories coming true…

"Hey! Look!" Callia calls out from where she stands, stooped, just a few feet from us.

"What is it?" Fledge asks, looking over his shoulder as the rest of us cautiously approach out friend.

"Walk slowly…" she says "You don't want to startle them."

"Who?" I ask, tiptoeing closer.

"Look…" Callia breathes, pointing down to a patch of ground just ahead of her.

I follow her line of sight and the direction of her point. And my eyes fall on a particular patch of greenery. Flitting just between the long thin blades of grass, pecking lazily at the ground, are tiny miniature versions of Loftwings…

"Wow…" Bryarly whispers "That's so cool!"

"They're tiny!" Pipit exclaims.

I frown "How come we don't have birds this little up in Skyloft?"

"I don't know," Leala replies "But aren't they beautiful?" She slowly extends on hand, reaching out to touch their silky soft feathers. But before she touch one, before she even gets close. The tiny little creatures flee in a panicked flurry of feathers and wings. We watch as they flutter away through the open skies, looking for some place else to settle. I turn to Callia, she looks a little crest fallen at not having been able to pet one, but she soon straightens herself up.

"So," she says, rubbing her hands together "which way do we want to go?"

But our question is quickly answered with a loud yelp of surprise. We all reel around, trying to catch a glimpse of what let out that tremendous sound. Karane, Pipit and I draw our swords, rushing over the ledge, looking down at the source of the noise. A tall creature stands in front of us. Its skin is beige and looks tough as rock, with paler patterns painted all over his skin. He has a dark greyish moustache and tiny beard, as well as some pointed hair on the top of his head. He carries a large backpack with a roll of paper, presumably a map.

Pipit leans forward a little, his brows arched in confusion as he yells "Who the heck are you?"


	6. Gorko and Machi

**Here we are again for chapter six! This is becoming so much fun! Seriously, I really love it! Anyway, time to thank the wonderful reviewers! That's ShadowNinja1011, theheartsbeat, CreCra, Hanyoualchemist1, and Neez! You guys are awesome :3 Also thanks to my most beautiful and talented collab writers, Franne and PrincesscharmingKnight! This chapter is told in the point of view of Franne's OC… Bryarly! Enjoy!**

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_"So," Callia says, rubbing her hands together "which way do we want to go?"_

_But our question is quickly answered with a loud yelp of surprise. We all reel around, trying to catch a glimpse of what let out that tremendous sound. Karane, Pipit and Leala draw their swords, rushing over to the ledge, looking down at the source of the noise. A tall creature stands in front of us all. Its skin is beige and looks tough as rock, with paler patterns painted all over his skin. He has a dark greyish moustache and tiny beard, as well as some pointed hair on the top of his head. He carries a large backpack with a roll of paper, presumably a map._

_Pipit leans forward a little, his brows arched in confusion as he yells "Who the heck are you?"_

"Me!?" the creature exclaims "Who are you?"

Pipit scowls, jumping down the ledge so he's on the same level as the creature. He holds his sword out in front of him. "Are you friend or foe?"

"Friend! My name's Gorko!" The creature replies, holding his hands up to show he means no harm. Pipit nods slowly, replacing his sword in its scabbard as we all follow him down the ledge. We approach Gorko slowly.

"Sorry…" Callia mumbles guiltily "We've been kind of on edge. We're not from round here and it's more dangerous than our home-"

"Wait," Gorko says, cutting her off "you're not from the sky, are you?"

We all exchange bemused glances. "Yeah," I say slowly, stepping forward "why?"

"Leaping lizards!" he exclaims "First the blonde one, then the green one, and now six of you! Are you all moving down here, or what?"

"What!" Leala exclaims "The blonde one, you don't mean… Zelda?"

Gorko chortles slowly in his low tone "That's what the green one called her!"

Pipit nudges me, leaning over and whispering into my ear "Green is the new colour for the Knight Academy uniform… that must be Link!"

I step forward a little, swallowing nervously. "I'm very sorry to seem abrupt, sir," I say "but we're actually looking for those two people. Their names are Link and Zelda… I don't suppose you could tell us which way they went?"

"Of course!" The creature laughs "I haven't seen this 'Zelda' in a long while… but Link went up that slope there!"

"Thanks!" Karane exclaims as we all turn. We're about to dash up that slope ahead of us. We're kind of in a rush… but Gorko calls out to us all, making us all stop.

"Hold up!" He shouts "Do you think you could help me with something?"

Callia sighs, turning around and walking back over to him "What's wrong?" She asks.

"This statue…" he mumbles "Something weird happened when that green guy, Link, went near it! I don't know much about it. It's meant to help people from sky, and seeing as you're from the sky I thought you could help me?"

"Of course!" Callia says "Me and Bryarly read lots about the old legends, I'm sure we could help you… right Bryarly?"

"Sure!" I nod, smiling.

Karane sighs, rubbing her temples with her fingertips "We don't have time to waste! Link and Zelda are still out there!"

I turn back to my other friends "We'll stay here and help Gorko, you guys carry on. We'll catch you up, ok?"

Fledge pulls a sad face as he speaks. "But the old lady in the temple said we should stick together?"

"It's ok Fledge!" Callia says "It's only for a little while, if you're worried, then don't go too far!"

He sighs, but reluctantly nods. We exchange hugs with our friends and say brief goodbyes. I don't know why but I'm getting a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe it's because we're meant to be staying together and working as a team… both me and Callia are clued up on the legends but she can't sword fight to save her life! I let out a deep sigh as I watch my friends walk away from me, each of them dashing up the slope.

"Don't worry about us," I say, faking confidence as I give them a parting shout "We'll see you soon!"

With quick waves and a thumbs up from Leala, they all vanish off out of sight. I turn back to Callia, giving her a bright smile; it's just the two of us now.

"So Gorko, what exactly do you want to know?" She asks.

"Anything!" He replies, scratching his head thoughtfully "That Link guy wasn't too helpful…"

I feel a small twist in my gut as he says that. I want to defend Link, but I know that's just being petty. What he said wasn't exactly insulting, and I'm sure he's justified in saying it. But still… a little part of me wants to spout off ways that Link is helpful… stop it Bryarly, you're being childish…

"Well it's a bird statue," Callia says, pulling me from my own thoughts. "We have them up in the sky, and we use them to pray to the Goddess."

I nod "From what I've read in the legends, they were left so the hero could travel up to the sky whenever he pleased. I guess so he could go back for help…"

Gorko lets out a low hum as he ponders his own thoughts. Eventually, he speaks "Thank you," he says "I think I'll stay here for a little while and investigate this some more. But who knows, maybe I'll see you again soon?"

Callia smiles "I look forward to it… and thanks for all your help!"

* * *

It took us a little while, but eventually we found our friends. We were delayed for ages trying to figure out how to climb up that sandy slope. We tried walking it… but just kept slipping right back down again. I took a run up and tried charging at it, but quickly ran out of breath and ended up falling on my backside. In the end we had to go back to Gorko and get him to tell us how to do it. The solution was so simple I can't believe I didn't realise it… all I had to do was run all the way! Idiot…

We arrived in a large open clearing. It was rather surreal, there were large colourful mushrooms growing everywhere. They looked like something out of a fairy-tale book. A couple of them were even sparkling. We tried attacking them, I wanted to see if they'd give me rupees like grass do… but they just jiggled and wobbled and let out a strange springy sound. Little bits of the glittery dust fell onto the ground, but I didn't think too much of it.

We continued along the path, and I had to fight a couple of the deku baba plants we faced in the Sealed Grounds. Callia tried… but she couldn't even land a hit on them. She just ended up cowering behind her shield. I love Callia to pieces, she and Leala are my best friends, but she can't even wield a practise sword. She can fly a Loftwing ok, and she's the smartest girl in the Knight Academy… but still… I guess we all have that one thing that we're not great at. With Callia its armed combat, Leala isn't great with her academics, and I'm clumsy when flying a Loftwing… but hey, I love them anyway!

And that brings us to right about now. Callia and I make our way across the clearing towards the other side. I can already see my friends stood around the base of a small, but fairly thick tree. Leala, Pipit, and Karane are all stood a few feet back from the tree. Leala holds her sword and shield in her hands, but she doesn't seem to have much of an interest in using them. Sat just a little way in front of them is Fledge. He sits cross legged on the ground, a bright smile on his face. He's conversing with what appears to be a small piece of shrubbery… what?

"Hey," I say, approaching my friends "what's going on?"

Suddenly, the tiny creature lets out a squeak of fright and surprise. It jumps up into the air, before belly flopping onto the ground and allowing its tail to puff open. Large green leaves sprout up from its back as it hides its eyes in its tiny hands, shivering with fear. I feel a small frown spread across my face as I study the tiny creature. It's only about knee-high, with soft brown fur covering its back, though its front is a creamier colour. On its head a thin, tiny green vine curls up and away like a lock of hair.

I frown "Are you ok?"

"Oh," Fledge mumbles, seeming a little disheartened "He's just shy… it's ok Machi! She's a friend!"

The tiny creature pushes himself up and away from the ground, still trembling a little from shock. I stoop down a little, leaning on my knees so I can get a closer look at him. I can't quite figure out if he's an animal or a plant… he's moving like he's alive, but he's got leaves and vines growing from him? I wander if it's just another race or creatures that live down here on the surface? He doesn't exactly look intimidating…

"Excuse me," I say "but what exactly are you?"

"I'm a Kikwi!" he exclaims in his very high pitched voice. "There's been so many of you people coming by, and all these nasty monsters! I'm spending all of my time hiding! Kee-paleep!"

"We're sorry if we scared you," Callia pipes up from behind.

Fledge turns to look at us, smiling "He's seen Link!" Fledge exclaims.

"Yeah," Machi says "I thought he was a green monster at first! He was looking for something called a 'Zelda,' whatever that is, kwee!"

"Fantastic!" Leala says, taking a step closer "Which way did he go?"

The little Kikwi turns, looking towards another ledge leading upwards. "He went that way, squee! He's gone to find our elder! If you follow the path, you'll find him, kee-paleep!"

"Thank you!" Pipit says, giving the tiny Kikwi a nod. Fledge quickly strokes Machi's fur and then climbs to his feet. We slowly make our way over towards the ledge, climbing up one by one. It takes us a few moments, but eventually we're all up and ready to move on.

"Geeze," Karane says, leaning closer to us so she can speak more quietly "what's with all this 'kee-paleep' nonsense? Do Kikwi's have Tourettes?"

I give her a shrug in response; I guess that's just the way that they speak down here on the surface. It's rather strange that they all speak the same language as us… at least, roughly the same language. I don't quite understand that. No one in Skyloft has ever set foot on the surface before, not in living memory. No one even knew for sure what's down here… so how do these creatures all speak Hylian? Am I missing something?

"Right," Callia says, putting her hands on her hips "so we're all agreed that our next objective is to find the Kikwi elder?"

"Right," Karane replies "then hopefully he'll be able to tell us where we'll find Link!"

"Relax," Pipit says, giving us all a confident smile "this is going to be a breeze! Link and Zelda can't have gone far, right?"

"Don't take this so lightly, Pipit," Leala warns "The old lady in the temple said Link has a lot set out before him…"

"Hey," I say "let's just take this one step at a time, alright? Right now, all we need to do is focus on finding the elder!"

"Onwards!" Leala exclaims.


	7. Hunting for the Deep Woods

**We're back again for the next chapter! ;) And it's time to thank some reviewers! So gratitude crystals go to ShadowNinja1011, Hanyoualchemist1, shadow djinni, Neez, CreCra, and theheartsbeat! Also thanks to my BEAUTIFUL collab partners, PrincesscharmingKnight and Franne!**

**One most lovely reviewer asked me about Ghirahim and when the knights will encounter him… I'll just say soon... we've got it all planned out… ;)**

**This chapter is told on the point of view of my OC, Callia!**

* * *

"I'm telling you," Karane groans "this is hopeless! The directions that Machi gave us are awful!"

Fledge lets out a deep sigh, mopping his moist brow with one corner of his blue neck scarf. "It's really rather humid down here…" he breathes.

"Let's not think about it," Leala mutters determinedly. "Come on, we can't have far to go until we meet the elder!"

"Really?!" Pipit exclaims, clearly short on temper "How do you know that, huh? Or are you just hazarding another wild guess? This is ridiculous, Leala! This whole thing was your idea and we've been down on this surface for hours and haven't seen so much as a glimpse of either Link or Zelda! Where's the elder? Where is he, huh?"

"Well…" Leala begins, but Pipit cuts her off.

"No!" he exclaims "we don't know! We listened to some tiny little creature that gave us directions to the middle of nowhere! We've come so far from home and now there's no way back! And we're no closer to Link or Zelda! WHERE'S THIS STUPID ELDER?!"

I stare at Pipit in silence for a few moments, my eyebrows shoot up right into my hairline. What has suddenly come over him? Pipit's one of the academy's best students, he's never been one to lose his temper like that. Leala watches him, sucking her lips in as she tries her best not to laugh.

"Pipit," she says.

"What?" he spits.

"That giant Kikwi over there… he's probably the elder…"

She points behind us all, and we turn obediently. That's when I see it. Sat on a raised bit of land just across a large gap, is a humungous Kikwi. He's probably as tall as of us stood on each other's shoulders. I swallow hard, staring at his huge size before turning back to Pipit.

"Oh…" Pipit mumbles, "I guess you're right… sorry…"

A few moments of awkward silence pass over the group as we all stare at Leala, waiting for her reaction. I'm expecting her to knock Pipit down a few pegs, to throw him off with her words and put him back into his place, but she doesn't. I watch as a small smile creeps across my friends face, and she slowly begins to laugh. The laughter spreads through the group, infecting me and Bryarly first, then Karane, then Fledge, and finally: Pipit.

"Oh Pipit," Bryarly giggles as a faint embarrassed blush seeps across the boys cheeks.

"Come on," I say "Let's just carry on! How do you propose we get over that gap?"

"There's a swing rope!" Karane exclaims, pointing to a long length of rope dangling from one of the tree branches.

Fledge frowns "It doesn't look very safe…" he mumbles.

"Then we'll go one at a time!" Leala says, putting her sword away and standing square on towards the rope. She takes a run up, before leaping off the edge of the rock and grabbing onto the rope as she jumps. She swings back and forth a few times, working up the momentum to eventually leap off, landing perfectly on the other side.

"Come on!" she calls, beckoning for us all to go over and join us.

Karane is first to follow, then Pipit, and Bryarly. When my turn finally comes around, I step to the edge of the rock. My stomach churns as I see the drop beneath me… it's not that big, but it's still deep enough to make my palms sweat. I swallow hard, nodding determinedly before hurling myself off the edge. My weight flies through the air and I reach out my arms, quickly grabbing onto the large thick rope. I swing back and forwards a few times until I've got the right momentum and then dive over, landing on my feet.

"That was fun!" I say, straightening out my uniform.

"Tell me about it," Karane smirks "I bet that rope couldn't hold Groose, though!"

We all laugh as Fledge comes in last, landing in a little bundled heap beside us. Me and Bryarly help him up to his feet, and then we all turn, looking over to the elder. His loud snores rattle through the forest, making the thick leaves on the trees rustle. I can't help but giggle a little as he lets out each trembling snore.

"What should we do?" Bryarly asks "Do you think we should wake him?"

"That would be rude…" Fledge mumbles.

Leala laughs aloud, raising her eyebrows "it would also be rude to make us wait whilst Link and Zelda are out there somewhere! They could be in danger!"

"I guess you're right…" I mumble "let's just be gentle, alright?"

We all nod, making our way over towards the large, sleeping Kikwi. I reach out one hand, and my skin touches his fur… I'm actually a little taken aback at how silky and soft it is…

"Excuse me," I mutter.

He suddenly wakes with a start, snorting and coughing as he pushes his heavy weight up and away from the ground. His massive shadow falls over us all, making me stare up at him in fear, trembling in my brown leather boots. I swallow hard, trying to think of what words to say as he looks down on me with such expectancy in his eyes.

That's when the fearless Leala steps forward, arms crossed. "Sorry to wake you," she says, as though it's just a formality "but we're very busy right now and we need your help! Machi, a member of you tribe sent us to find you! He said you'd know where our friends are!"

"Your friends?" he asks, his voice deep and gruff "I take it you're talking about the blonde haired girl who was looking for the temple, and the boy dressed in green searching for her? They're the only ones of your kind that I've seen in years!"

Pipit grins "they're the ones! Were they together? Could you tell us which way they went?"

The Kikwi elder sighs loudly, and says "I'm afraid they weren't together, but they were both headed in the same direction! They went towards the temple within the deep woods!"

"Oh…" Bryarly mumbles "which way should we go if we want to find them then?"

* * *

The Kikwi elder gave us directions, but it's taken us the most part of the morning and a few hours into the afternoon to follow the path he gave us. On the way, we had to stop by a small lake area to rest and get some food to eat. We talked about a lot of things, but the conversation mainly revolved around one topic: this new place. We talk and talked about how strange it is to think that we lived our whole lives without a clue that this place ever existed. How surreal it feels to know that we're down here, whilst people above the clouds have no clue what the surface is like, and how people will react when we get home.

Pipit had said how he knows his mother will be worried about him, especially seeing as now no one will clean his house. We discussed what we thought Groose would be doing right now, probably flipping his lid over loosing Zelda, and then having Link chase after her. Not only that, but all his classmates vanishing too! We thought about our teachers, and wondered if they're worrying about us right now.

But eventually we agreed that we had to press on. We didn't want to rest for too long because we'd fall too far behind Link and Zelda. So we set out, continuing to adventure into this strange wilderness. We encountered even more Deku Baba's, and more of the troll creatures that the Kikwi elder told us are called Bokoblins. We met even more foes… strange plants that poke their heads up from the ground and spit their seeds at you, and nests of hornets, much like the ones you can find on some of the sky's islands.

And here we are now, approaching the final area. This is where the Kikwi elder had told us we can find the entrance to the deep woods. He told us to look out for a tall temple structure made of bright white stone. He said there would be a strange mark on the ground, and that if we followed the tunnel just beyond there, we would find ourselves in the deep woods.

We step out into the clearing, and it's plain to see that this is the largest area we've seen as of yet. A whole variety of mushrooms are dotted around the space in red, blue and yellow. Some of them glisten and produce the strange glittery spores that we saw earlier, though most are just regular. Bokoblins patrol the area, not just the red ones that we've seen before but one's with blue skin and sharper weapons. It takes us a few moments to tackle them, made worse by their horns that they use to call back-up… but eventually we manage.

Birds fly around this clearing too, not colourful birds like the ones outside the Sealed Temple, but nasty black ones. They squawk in a rude and unattractive way, and try to peck you with their crooked yellow beaks. Eventually, we realise that you can get rid of them if you throw rocks at them, though it's not much good for me because I've got terrible aim. Never the less, we fight off the enemies closest to us, and then turn our attention to the structure ahead.

It's just like the Kikwi elder described: tall, elegant, made of bright white stone work. I'm impressed by how detailed it is, and by its architectural majesty, and I can't help but wonder how species who are less developed than us could have built this. But I don't have the time to focus on those kinds of details when there are more important adventures ahead of us.

"Come on!" Karane exclaims, dashing on ahead of us up the steps of the building. We find another one of those bird statues standing proudly at the very top, and just a layer below that is the final clue that we were looking for. A large symbol is carved into the flooring. It's a small circle, with two crescent moons to the left hand side of it.

"That's it!" I exclaim "that must the strange mark that the Kikwi elder was talking about!"

"Well come on then!" Leala says, brimming with excitement. "That vine must be our way forward!" She points ahead of her to a green vine that dangles down from a tall tree. Just beyond this, on a slightly higher level, is a dark archway that I'm presuming leads to the deep woods. Leala grins at us all, getting herself a tight grip on the vine and climbing upwards. Within a matter of moments, she's already up by the archway and running through.

"Hurry up slow coaches!" She shouts.

But that's when everything goes wrong… A dark shimmering noise rings out through the air, and a cloud of diamonds appear before Leala almost instantaneously. She's knocked onto her back as a figure forms within the clouds of glistening diamonds. Leala lets out a surprised yelp and jumps to her feet, leaping back off the edge and towards us. She, Pipit, and Karane draw their swords, aiming the points towards the figure.

I try to get a better look at him, to try and understand who exactly he is… but before I can get a closer look he begins to move. He dives into the air, letting out a distinguished cry as he vaults over the rocks, performing a perfect flip before landing on his feet on the other side of us. And that's when I finally get a better look at his face…

"Well well well," he smirks "Your pathetic Goddess never foretold so many adorable sky children…"


	8. Demon Lord Ghirahim

**Here we are again guys! Ready for a new chapter! It's time to find out what Ghirahim's doing interfering with the Knights… but before that we must think out reviewers! That's ShadowNinj1011, Neez, CreCra, TechyZeldaNerd, theheartsbeat, and viximarie! One lovely reviewer asked about hearing how everyone is back in Skyloft… we'll probably do a chapter about Skyloft after they've completed the Skyview Temple!**

**This chapter is told from Leala's point of view!**

**Kudos to my lovely collab partners PrincesscharmingKnight and Franne!**

* * *

_A dark shimmering noise rings out through the air, and a cloud of diamonds appear before me almost instantaneously. I'm knocked onto my back as a figure forms within the clouds of glistening diamonds. I let out a surprised yelp and jump to her feet, leaping back off the edge and towards my friends. I, Pipit, and Karane draw our swords, aiming the points towards the figure._

_I try to get a better look at him, to try and understand who exactly he is… but before I can get a closer look he begins to move. He dives into the air, letting out a distinguished cry as he vaults over the rocks, performing a perfect flip before landing on his feet on the other side of us. And that's when I finally get a better look at his face…_

_"Well well well," he smirks "Your pathetic Goddess never foretold so many adorable sky children…"_

"Sky children? What are you talking about?" Bryarly asks.

He merely laughs in response, raising one perfectly shaped eyebrow. I take a few moments to examine his appearance. His skin is deathly pale, almost as if he were a ghost. His white hair falls over one eye like a curtain, and the other eye is tainted purple around the edges. A thin layer of silver gloss coats his lips, which curl into a tight grimace as he flips his hair melodramatically. His long, grand red cape ruffles in the mild breeze, revealing a little more of his skin tight white attire. Diamonds are cut through the fabric, revealing more of his pale skin.

"You are from the sky, are you not?" he asks, annunciating each word with incredible diction "Just like that delightful young boy that you're chasing…"

"How do you know about him?" Karane asks, raising her sword a little higher.

The creature lets out a low chuckle, his eyes darkening as he speaks. "The young boy is of no importance, in fact; he appears to be more of a nuisance than anything. He's only here to stop me from getting my hands on the girl…"

"Girl?" I growl, stepping forward "You shan't lay a hand on Zelda! I won't let you!"

"Oh isn't that adorable…" he says, looming over me, his shadow chilling my skin. "The little warrior girl thinks she can stop me. Let me tell you a little something about me. My name is Ghirahim, I am the Demon Lord who presides over this land you call the surface. I have waited many years for the arrival of this girl you call 'Zelda', though you clearly no nothing of her true identity. I have worked too hard for children like you to spoil my plans; I won't let you, or your pathetic little green friend get in my way. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a temple to find."

He turns to walk away, his cape swooping around him as he spins. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know if I should try to stop him, if there's any way I can warn Link of what's happening. I'm mulling it over, trying to come up with a plan, when suddenly a loud growl erupts from behind me. A flash of yellow and brown dives forward, blade swinging wildly in the open air. I try to yell after him, to tell him to stop, but it's too late.

Ghirahim whirls back around, one hand extended out behind him. Waves of raw energy radiate from his fingertips, like a powerful explosion as he raises his hand to Pipit. Within a matter of seconds; Pipit is thrown back. His limbs are clenched in fear as he body is propelled away from the self-proclaimed Demon Lord. The yellow fabric of his tunic scrapes against the pale paving slabs as he hits the ground with a loud thud. His sword falls from his grip, skidding along the ground in the far direction.

We all stare at him in silence, waiting for a reaction, hoping that he's ok. Karane looks more worried than anyone, her face crestfallen as she runs to his side. Her long orange hair falls forward as she leans over his hunched body.

"Pipit," she whispers.

After a few more moments of silence, he lets out a low groan of pain, pushing himself up and away from the ground. There are grazes on his arms, and his tunic is a little ripped, but he seems to be mainly ok. It takes him a few minutes to collect himself and to stagger up to his feet. Fledge hands him his blade that he dropped, and he straightens out his pointed yellow hat. We all turn back to Ghirahim, but my eyes only fall on empty space… he's gone…

His voice echoes around the open space, but he's still nowhere to be seen. "Don't worry, I'll tell your little friend you stopped by…"

"What!?" I spit "Why!?"

"He won't live long enough to see you again…" growls the Demon Lord, before he truly vanishes.

"Who the hell was that guy?" Callia asks, brushing her long blonde hair back from her face.

"No idea," Pipit growls "but it sounds like he's after Zelda. We need to find that temple he was talking about. He's obviously headed there!"

"Come on, let's not waste any more time," I say, returning my sword to its scabbard. "That guy is dangerous. I don't know if Link will be able to defeat him without us!"

We all nod, readying ourselves for whatever lies ahead. We take a few moments to prepare. Fledge checks that we've all got the right potions, I sort out weapons and shields while Karane cleans up the worst of Pipit's injuries. We agree to let him have one of the heart potions to sort himself out. After all, we do have plenty more of them in our adventure pouches. Once we're all organised, we begin to make our way into the deep woods. Honestly, right now, I just want to find Link and Zelda and keep them safe, I'd be kicking myself if that Demon got his hands on them.

* * *

"Now which way are we meant to go?" Fledge asks as we find ourselves in a new area.

We stand in a clearing, large and open with a smaller section leading off to our west. If I look to the north east, I can see a variety of strange shaped rocks that rise up against the steep drop. A set of thick tight ropes wind from rock to rock, providing a pathway across the deep crevasse. Various Bokoblins are patrolling around the area. I know that if we tried to go that way; they'd knock us clean off the tightropes.

I look around me in desperation, hoping to find another pathway. The smaller section that leads off the clearing to the west contains a large wooden tree. The foliage of its branches is thick as Groose and green as grass. As I study it more carefully, I suddenly see a log pushed down behind it. I frown; it leads up to a ledge above with a pathway. I wonder… I mean, we've seen logs pushed down like that before! They're usually shortcuts to somewhere new!

"Hey, look!" I say, pointing over to the log "I bet that leads somewhere! Come on!"

"Hold on!" Bryarly says, grabbing my arm to stop me from moving. "Look!"

She holds up one sun kissed arm, pointing it deep into the branches of the tree. I frown, following her gaze. That's when I suddenly see what she's pointing to. Hanging from the branches of the tree, dripping with larvae and honey, is a large hornet's nest. Deku hornets buzz all around the nest. I can't help but wonder if there's some way we can by pass them without them chasing us all and stinging us raw.

"I've got this," Callia smiles "Karane, fire a deku seed at the nest!"

"What?!" Karane laughs "Are you crazy! That'll just aggravate them!"

"Just do it…" Callia says "I read about it in one of Stritch's bug books! It says that's a way to distract them so that you can sneak past!"

"I guess it's worth a try…" Karane mumbles. She pulls her slingshot from her pocket, loading it up with one of the deku seeds. She holds the projectile weapon up in the air, closing one eye so she can get a better focus on her target. After a couple of seconds of aiming, she fires the nut. It hits deku hornets hive right in the centre, causing it to fall to the grassy floor and crack open. We all watch as the hornets begin to thrive around the broken nest, buzzing wildly.

"Right, they're distracted," I say "Let's go!"

We all break out into a run, skirting around the edges of the tree in order to give the hornets a wide birth. We hurriedly scrabble up the log, helping to pull each other up behind us, and find ourselves stood on a long pathway between the rocks.

We begin to proceed along the path. We encounter a couple of green Chuchus, much like the ones in Skyloft, and a Bokoblin too. They, however, do not prove to be much hassle for the bite of my blade. We continue, jumping down onto a lower path where we have to fight a couple more Bokoblins and the enemy that we met before who spits seeds at you. Pipit's shield takes a little bit of damage, but it's nothing too bad.

"Well would you look at that!" come a low, friendly voice from behind us.

We all reel around, turning to see who's talking to us. There's a steep rocky ledge to our direct behind, but when I look up, my eyes fall on a familiar face.

"Gorko!" Fledge exclaims, sounding happy.

"Hey!" Bryarly smiles "It's good to see you again!"

Gorko laughs aloud, scratching his head as he does so. "It's good to see you too," he replies "I'm glad you made it safely through the forest, what with all these monsters around!"

"Tell me about it!" I laugh.

"Well, come on up! Let's have a proper chat!" Gorko beams, gesturing to another fallen log. One by one, we all clamber upwards, standing beside him.

"So did you manage to meet up with your buddy Link?" he asks.

Pipit sighs "unfortunately not! But word has it that he's in some kind of temple… I don't suppose you could help us with that?"

Gorko frowns "Are you kidding me? I saw Link not too long ago!"

"Really?" Karane exclaims "What was he doing?"

"Still looking for that blonde girl! He headed right into that building up there! Maybe that's the temple you're looking for?"

I pause for a moment, glancing over my shoulder. That's when I see the large temple stood just a few meters away. Large stone steps sweep upwards towards its golden doors. The entrance is swung wide open, allowing me to see the darkness that practically pours from within.

I frown "Do you know what's in there?"

"Dunno," Gorko shrugs "never really thought about it. Apparently there are monsters, but that's all I've heard! Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"No worries," I reply, fondly patting him on the arm "We'd better get moving! We don't want to lose sight of our friend. But I hope to see you soon!"

"I hope so too," he replies, giving us a dopey smile "stay safe!"

"We'll try our best," Callia laughs.


	9. Skyview Temple

**Well hello there! The collaboration team is back again with a new chapter for you all! Sorry there was no chapter last week. It's been pretty busy over here… blah blah blah. You don't want excuses, you want story! Though we first need to thank some amazing reviewers, that's Hanyoualchemist1, CreCra, viximarie, ShadowNinja1011, Link, Neez, and ButterflyBabyBlue!**

**Hugs and kisses to beautiful collab partners PrincesscharmingKnight and Franne!**

**This chapter is told in Bryarly's point of view!**

Dungeon crawling wasn't anything much like I had expected. I thought it would be a relentless tackle of fiendish traps, complex puzzles and dangerous monsters. Would it be bad to say that I'm a little bit disappointed with what we've found in Skyview temple so far? If it is, then I'm sorry, but this temple seems like a bit of a let-down to me. Then again, I suppose I should note the fact that Link has probably already tackled the puzzles, traps, and the worst of the monsters.

Still, the lack of difficulty hasn't made this temple any brighter. It's still quite unnerving to even be here. The entire vicinity is lit only with the eerie glow of strange blue mushrooms. Cobwebs cover the walls and passageways, and they have a nasty habit of clinging to your skin, hair and clothing. Not only that, but everything here echoes. Every footstep, every drop of water, and every breath bounces of the walls and reverberates through the room. The clicking of a Skulltula's pincers can be heard from anywhere within the room, making it impossible to know when you're going to get attacked.

And yet, none of us are willing to admit defeat. Evening is begging to draw in over the land, but we're determined to find Link or to reach what's on the other end of this temple before night fall. Whatever it is, it's got to get us closer to finding Link and Zelda. No offense to this beautiful paradise, but none of us really want to spend the night here. There are no beds, no shelter, and who knows what could attack us while we're sleeping?

"Come on," Leala says, gripping the bottom of the heavy stone door and pushing it upwards "Let's head on."

She and Pipit hold the door up as we all make our way through, before letting it fall with a grinding sound. We find ourselves in a brand new room. It's vast in scope, far larger than any of the other temple rooms we've seen before. The entire space is bathed in a strange golden light, almost as though sunlight has somehow found its way into this dense, dark place. Another smaller room sits right in the centre of the open space, its doors are barred, but a pink gemstone stands above it. That's something this dungeon features a lot, pink gemstones that act as switches to open doors.

Karane pulls her slingshot from her back pocket, closing one eye to try and aim straight. That's when suddenly, a thought strikes me.

"Stop!" I say, holding up one hand to halt her movements "If Link has already been though there, then why would the door close again? That's the only entrance and exit to the room, so he must have come out the same way he went in!"

Karane frowns "What's your point?"

"My point is that the door probably locks behind you! If we go in, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to get out again."

"That's true," Pipit mumbles "I say we keep on looking around, search for another way forward."

We all nod, breaking off into pairs to search the room. Karane and I head around to the left. As we scan the walls, I can see a door leading away from here. However, the only way to access that door is over a long piece of tightrope. That wouldn't be a problem, if it weren't for all the deku baba's that drop from the ceiling, their large jaws slavering at the very sight of us.

Suddenly, from the far side of the room, a strange metallic clicking sound can be heard. I frown as I straighten up, suddenly assertive. My eyes scan the space as I hurriedly try to find the source of that sound. Yet my efforts don't prevail.

"What was that noise?" Leala calls from the far side of the room.

"It's coming from over here!" Pipit yells. He's standing on the opposite side to which we entered. We all rush over, desperate to find what's happening. Yet none of us can see a thing. We take a moment to confer, but decide to push on anyway. We break out into a run, the lot of us pushing through towards the nearest exit of the room. And that's when I see it. The arch way is blocked, cut off by a large brown and red diamond print barrier. I frown, taking a step closer to examine it. Pipit tries to ram his way through, charging at it shoulder first, but the barrier doesn't budge an inch.

"What the heck is this?" Karane asks, clearly irritated by the situation.

"My my, you certainly are persistent little brats, aren't you?"

I wheel around, eyebrows arched in frustration. I'd recognise that distinctive voice anywhere. And sure enough, there he stands, proud as ever. His glorious red cape billows around him as he steps forward. The malice gleams in his dark pupils, it's almost enough to make we want to slash him with my sword. I know however, from watching Pipit fall last time, that it will be of no use to jump into attack.

"I must say you've exceeded my expectations," he says, slowly circling us "You've done an excellent job to make it this far so quickly. Though I suppose credit goes to your little friend for solving all the puzzles."

Leala frowns darkly "Where is he?" she spits "What have you done with Link?"

A small smile spreads across the Demon Lord's face as he speaks. "Fear not, for I have not come into contact with the boy yet. My my, speak of the devil."

He nods behind us, eyebrows raised in a manner of revelation. I turn quickly, following his gaze. A room is laid out before my eyes. There's a small stone paved area right on the other side of the doorway, followed by a steep drop. A tightrope leads over the space, giving one access to the other side, where a large door stands. It's golden, intricately decorated, with a large fancy looking lock.

I turn my gaze a little to the right, and that's when I suddenly realise what he meant. A figure walks slowly across the far side of the room, carrying a strange golden object in his hands. He's dressed in a proud green tunic, layered with chainmail beneath. On his belt, he sports the adventure pouch that Fledge made him, and Zelda's sailcloth is just hanging out of one of the pockets. He looks tired, worn, slightly worried, but I'm relieved to see that he's unharmed.

"Link…" I breathe.

"Quite," Ghirahim remarks, flipping his long hair from his eyes.

"LINK!" Leala yells suddenly, throwing herself against the diamond barrier. "LINK!"

Ghirahim raises his eyebrows, as if he's growing tired of the whole charade "He can't hear you, you imbecile! Did you really think I'd be so stupid as to not soundproof this barrier? My, the Goddess certainly didn't breed intelligent beings, did she?"

"Hold on," Pipit growls "If you're so obsessed with capturing Zelda… then why have you barricaded yourself away from her?"

With that, Ghirahim turns away, cape billowing in a wide arc as he does. His long thin fingers begin to coil and flex as he mutters inaudible words. What the heck is he doing? He must be casting some sort of enchantment. Just then as I'm thinking, he vanishes into thin air, leaving just a few shimmering diamonds behind; which quickly fade into nothing.

"I enjoyed our little chat…" his voice hisses "but I really mustn't delay. I'm afraid I can't allow you to interfere whilst I deal with the boy…"

"Don't you lay a hand on him!" I yell, feeling the rage bubble inside me. My friends all stare at me in silence, taken aback by my sudden outrage. Even I must admit that I'm a little shocked.

Yet his voice continues, unaffected by my anger. "Now won't you be good little sky children and just wait patiently? I have more important matters to tend to…"

And with one last, bright flash of diamonds, he vanishes. Just at that moment, the doors Link just passed through slam shut behind him, leaving us all confused.

"Something's happening," I mumble. "This isn't just Zelda disappearing. It's bigger than that! It has to be! That creep wouldn't just hunt her down if she wasn't something special. And what the heck is he talking about? All this stuff about the Goddess?"

"I don't know," Pipit growls, slashing away at the barrier with his sword. "All I know is that lunatic is after our friend! He's going after Zelda, and he doesn't care that he has to go through Link to get to her." His face is contorted with anger as he works away at the barrier. He doesn't seem to notice that his sword isn't even scratching the diamonds. Karane steps forward, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. I watch as he immediately relaxes, still breathing heavily.

Leala quickly turns to us all "I hate this," she spits. "We can't just sit here waiting while that sadistic bastard is after our friend!"

"And what do you suggest, huh?" Callia asks, stepping forward "Have you got a magical way that we can get through that barrier? Because the way I see it, we're screwed! All we can do is sit here and wait to see if Link can defeat him."

Leala turns to look directly at her, lips pressed together in frustration. "So you just want to sit back and let him hurt our friend?"

"I never said that!" Callia defends, crossing her arms. "I don't want to, but what other choice do we have?"

"We're knights!" Leala exclaims "We don't let our friends get hurt!"

"There's nothing we can do!" Callia flames, staring daggers at her.

I watch with a twisted stomach as my two best friends argue. My heart is beating hard against my chest because I don't know what to do. I want to speak up, to tell them that they're wasting their energy arguing. That it won't get us anywhere. But I can't summon up the courage…

"Yeah well," Leala spits "Maybe you can't wield a sword to save your life, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are so cowardly!"

"I'm not a coward!" Callia replies "So I'm not great at sword combat, what's your point? You don't know anything about the old texts!"

"AT LEAST I DON'T LEAVE MY FRIENDS TO DIE!"

"STOP IT!"

We all turn to look behind us, startled by the sudden outburst. That's when I see Fledge stood, arms crossed over his orange tunic, a hurt look on his face. He steps forward, letting out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbles "I didn't mean to yell. But we shouldn't be arguing, we should be working together…"

"When did you suddenly grow a pair?" Karane asks, looking him up and down judgementally. Fledge shies away from her gaze.

"Fledge is right though," I say "We have to work on this together. I was right when I said this is bigger than Zelda… I just know it. Link's going to need our help, so we can't turn against one another?"

"Fine," Callia sighs.

We all turn to look at Leala, waiting for a response. She rolls her eyes "I guess… just don't test me, ok?"

"You got it," I smile, clapping her on the back. "Right, for now, all we need to do is figure out a plan…"

We all settle down on the cold stone flooring, discussing what will happen next and what we plan to do. As the conversation deepens, I find myself smiling. I've never really taken control like I did back there. Ever since I joined the Knight Academy, I've kind of always followed Leala. She's a natural leader, so she can't always help it. But it felt good to stand up for myself for once… it felt good to take charge like that…


	10. Going Home

**The collab team is back again! And we've got a few reviewers to thank! That's ShadowNinja1011, CreCra, Neez, slamajama97, ButterflyBabyBlue, Hanyoualchemist1, awesomeGanondorg, and TheSunsetWolf!  
****Kudos to my amazing collab partners PrincesscharmingKnight and Franne!  
****This chapter is told from my OC, Callia's, POV!**

* * *

Darkness is already beginning to cover the surface, and we're trying to figure out how to get back home. Night is falling over this strange wooded land, turning the lush paradise into a creepy nightmare. I can hear the loud shrieks of Bokoblins as they shout demands to each other. Bats click and squawk as they try to find a comfortable perch, and in the far distance, the howls of wild animals ring through the evening.

The land that once seemed so beautiful and entrancing to me is hurriedly turning into a shadowed wilderness. The more I look around me, the more I begin to panic. I miss the comfort and serenity of Skyloft… Sure, there were a couple of monsters around after dark, but it's nothing compared to what we've seen today. I want my own bed, I want my old school. Heck, I'm even begging to miss the likes of Groose and his cronies.

I feel like the whole world is turning against me as I hurriedly scan through the pages of the old texts that I brought with me here. There must be some kind of clue, some kind of hint as to how we can get home. We can't stay here all night… who knows what would happen to us? Link has already gone. I don't know where, but he'd vanished by the time we managed to break through Ghirahim's barrier. We scoured the entire dungeon in search of him and Zelda, but alas, no luck. And with that, we retreated back out of the temple in search of a path home. We were surprised when we stepped outside to find the sun already beginning to dip below the horizon. The sky was streaked a pinky-orange colour, casting elongated, haunting shadows across our pathway.

And now it's almost pitch black out here. Stars are prickling through the clouds, giving us the only source of illumination other than the large glowing moon. And eerie silver glow is cast over everything, though it's not much to work by. Fledge stands next to me, an oil lantern clutched in his grip that he brought from Skyloft. It's not much to read by, but it's better than nothing.

"Ah-ha!" I suddenly exclaim, making Bryarly jump out of her skin.

"What is it? What is it?" Karane asks, reeling around from where she stands guard.

"It's written right here," I say, pointing to the right spot on the page. "Those who seek a path back through the clouds, face the old statue and pray these words aloud: Oh Goddess, I hold in my hand your sailcloth. So summon the winds, and send us aloft."

"Old statue?" Leala asks, leaning closer. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Pipit mumbles "there was a statue of the Goddess in the spring at the back of temple. Could that be it?"

"No…" Karane says, slowly shaking her head "You couldn't summon winds in the middle of a spring! There'd be water going everywhere!"

"Unless…" Bryarly mumbles.

"Unless what?" I ask.

"Well… maybe it means the old bird statues. Gorko reckoned they were something important. And think about it, they are all over the place!"

"You may have a point." I say "It can't hurt to try anyway! Come on then!"

We take to our feet, walking slowly over towards the bird statue near the steps of the temple. We pull our sailcloths from our pockets, holding them ready in our hands as I close my eyes.

"Oh Goddess," I say, trying to sound confident "I hold in my hand your sailcloth. So summon the winds, and send us aloft."

Almost instantaneously, a loud ring sounds out through the air. We all jump a little in surprise as the orange bands of the statues immediately light up, casting their amber glow through the air in bright beams. The low, hollow whistle of the wind rings through the air as gusts begin to spiral and circulate around us. My hair is blowing in all directions, and Pipit is clinging to his hat with all his might.

Before I realise what's happening, a breath of wind is blown into my sailcloth. It balloons into spectacular proportions, and I'm ripped off my feet within a matter of seconds. I'm gripping onto my sailcloth for dear life as I'm propelled away from the ground, and up towards the cloud barrier. I feel a scream rip from my throat as my stomach aches within me. My feet long for solid ground beneath them, but that's an unmet need right now.

My friends and I are thrown right up into the sky, causing my stomach to churn as my body is tossed and twirled through the open air. It's only as I regain some form of balance that I realise something. It's night time here… the sky is almost pitch black. None of have the ability to fly our birds at night… even if we did, there's no way we can see more than a few feet in front of us. The cold air is stinging the very points of my ear as I begin hurtling downwards again.

In a fit of panic, I press my fingers to my lips and let out a loud whistle. There are a few moments of squawking and fluttering, but eventually, I feel the warmth of my bird beneath me. Her strong bones carry my weight as we reign up into the sky. She glides through the dark night like an effortless warrior, though I can feel the panic trembling through her feathers. Neither she, nor I, knows where we're going. And neither of us can see a thing.

From above me, I can hear Pipit's voice calling through the night. It's slightly muffled by the turbulence, but I can make out the words 'Lumpy Pumpkin.' My blind eyes scan through the dark night. The only island that I can make out right now is Skyloft. Torches light the pathways through the sleepy community, and the moon is reflecting in the glow of the lake. How homesick it makes me feel…

I force myself to turn away, searching for the pumpkin island. Far off in the distance, I can make out the outline of the round restaurant. Pinpricks of light can be seen through what I'm assuming are the windows, how warm and inviting they look. I glance upwards and to my left a little, making out the silhouettes of my friends and their birds. Each of them is struggling to control their Loftwing, just as I am. We've never been trained to fly at night.

Despite the unforgiving and relentless dark, the blindness of my bird and I, and the confused cries of my friends, I finally land just outside of the Lumpy Pumpkin. Admittedly, my landing was a bit rough, but I'm ok. Pipit, Leala, and Karane are already appreciatively petting their Loftwings and thanking them for flying in the night. I give my guardian bird a hug to thank her, and feed her some scraps from my pocket before she flaps off into the night. Fledge is just coming in to land as I turn to look at my friends.

"I'm glad we all made it safely," Pipit says.

"Hold on," I cut him off "where's Bryarly?"

Just then, as if on que, a loud cry rips through the sky. Bryarly comes hurtling towards the building, hanging from her Loftwing with one hand. There are a few muffled noises, and the loud flutter of feathers as the creature makes a big for freedom. Her bird lets out a shrill cry as it tries to swoop upwards and away from the building. The result is Bryarly losing her grip and plummeting towards the ground.

"BRYARLY!" I call out.

At that moment, she drops right down. Her body collides with me, Leala, and Karane and we all get knocked right down to the grass. The air is forced out of my chest as Karane is pushed back into me, and within moments I find myself on the ground, buried beneath my friends. We're all caught up in a tangle of limbs and hair, groaning and whining as we try to figure out how to stand up again. Pipit and Fledge aren't doing anything to hold back their laughter as they watch us struggle.

Eventually, I manage to pull myself up to my feet again. It takes me a few moments to dust off my clothes and check myself for any cuts or bruises, but within a few seconds, I'm ok.

"Sorry about that…" Bryarly mumbles "Is everyone alright?"

"What is all this noise?" someone exclaims from behind us.

We all whizz around, eager to know who's addressing us. There Kina stands in the doorway of the Lumpy Pumpkin. She's holding a towel in one hand, and wearing her usual apron. She watches us all with an open mouth a wide, unblinking eyes. I look around at my friends, who are all fumbling and stammering as they try and figure out what to say. They sound about as confused as Kina looks. I sigh to myself, stepping forward a little.

"We really should explain what's going on here…"

* * *

"So there is something below the clouds?" Kina asks, setting a bowl of warm pumpkin soup down in front of me. The earthy aroma fills my nostrils, and I can smell the delicious spices that are mixed in. No matter where I go or what happens, there will be nothing nicer than a piping hot bowl of pumpkin soup when I come home. And we all know that there's nowhere that makes pumpkin soup like the Lumpy Pumpkin does.

"Not just something," Leala says, wiping her mouth with a napkin "a lot! We've seen more today than there is in all of Skyloft! And that's probably not even the half of it!"

"Wow…" Kina breathes. "That's unbelievable! What's it like?"

"It's a forest," Pipit says "lush and green and beautiful. There are some friendly creatures down there, but also lots of monsters."

We're all sat around the large round table in the main restaurant area of the Lumpy Pumpkin. By this time of night, the place is deserted. Everyone has gone back to their homes in Skyloft, meaning we get some peace and quiet. Kina is wiping down all the tables with a damp cloth whilst she talks to us about our adventures, asking lots of questions. She's really intrigued by the surface, just as much as we were.

"Well you made the right call coming here," she says, dropping onto one of the stools. "If you'd have gone back to Skyloft, they wouldn't have let you leave again! The whole town has been looking for you."

"They have?" I ask, swallowing hard.

She nods "Oh yes! When your headmaster found that you weren't at the academy in the morning, he sent out search parties. The knights were scouring all of the islands in search of you. We all thought something horrible had happened to you. That is, until Patrice said that she saw you heading towards the column of light very early in the morning. After that, the headmaster figured out that you must have gone after Link and Zelda."

"Was he annoyed?" Fledge mumbles.

Kina nods slowly "Very. He kept going on about how he warned you not to go near the column of light. In all fairness, I think he was only annoyed because he was worried something would happen to you. He told everyone in Skyloft that if we saw you, we had to bring you back to the academy."

Bryarly's spoon clatters onto the table as she swallows hard. "Wait… you're not going to send us back, are you?"

Kina laughs a little, shaking her head "No, of course not! I know how worried you are about your friends; you're just trying to help them! That's why I'll let you stay here tonight. You can sleep in the guest rooms. Feel free to take a bath and clean yourselves up. If you leave your clothes in the bath tub, I'll wash them overnight so you're all clean in the morning! I presume you're going back tomorrow?"

Pipit nods vigorously "Of course! We're not giving up until we find Link and Zelda!"

Kina grins "That's the spirit!"

* * *

Night has truly falling over the little pumpkin restaurant. The only light comes from kitchen, spilling in through the slightly open doorway. I can hear Kina in the next room, quietly humming to herself as she scrubs away at our clothes. She's been so sweet and understanding about everything. If it wasn't for her co-operation, I don't know what would have happened to us. We would have had to have gone home…

I lie in a warm, comfortable bed within one of the lumpy pumpkins rooms. It's a simple room, fairly large but rather empty. The walls are a sullen green colour, and a singular wardrobe lies on the wall opposite the door. Either side of it are twin beds, with pumpkin print duvet covers. A tiny window gives me a view out to the vast, dark sky, but I can't make out a single thing through the inky blackness.

"Hey Callia," Leala whispers from across the room "are you awake?"

"Uh-hu…" I reply, keeping my eyes closed.

"I'm sorry I got so mad earlier…" she whispers "I was just a bit… hysterical. I didn't mean what I said. You're not a coward…"

"I'm sorry too." I whisper. There are a few more moments of silence between us, before I speak again. "Do you think we're doing the right thing?"

She rolls over in her bed, turning to look at me. She props her head up on one elbow. "What do you mean?"

"Following Link and Zelda," I elaborate "are we making a mistake? Maybe we should have listened to Headmaster Geapora…"

"No way!" she whispers "of course we're doing the right thing! It would be wrong to let Link and Zelda face this alone."

I sigh "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am," she smirks. "Night Callia."

"Night Leala."


	11. Volcano

**WE'RE BACK!**

**We've done a lot of planning, and I'm really excited to start on writing the storylines we've got planned with the help of my lovely collab partners PrincesscharmingKnight and Franne! We'd also like you all to say a warm welcome to another member of our team, Knuckles, whose OC will be appearing in the next few chapters!**

**Anyway, reviewers from the last chapter need to be thanked! That's ButterflyBabyBlue, ShadowNinja1011, Ravenmaid16, CreCra, Neez, Hanyoualchemist1, and Yuki onna!**

**This chapter is done in Leala's POV… enjoy!**

"Wake up lazy!"

"Five more minutes…" I mumble, kicking out at the shadow looming over me. It's a struggle to work my leg loose from the tangle of bed sheets, but I somehow manage. The cold air hits my foot the moment it's free from the blankets, and I instantly regret the decision.

"I'm being serious, we've got to head out soon otherwise customers will start arriving!" comes Callia's incessant voice.

"For crying out loud," I huff, pushing myself up from the bed. "I need my sleep! If I don't sleep, I'll be no good for the adventure."

She stoops down, picking up a pile of folded clothes from the little bedside table and tossing them at me. "And if you don't get up, there won't be an adventure! Be at the breakfast table in five minutes. If not, I'll get Karane to drag you out here, and you know she will!" Callia grins.

"I'd like to see her try," I retort, picking the purple fabric of my tunic up from where Callia tossed it. It smells fresh and the mud stains from yesterday have all but vanished. Kina must have been up most of the night cleaning our uniforms.

The door clicks shut behind Callia and she vanishes out of our twin bedroom, leaving me alone. I drag myself up from the comfort of the pumpkin print bed and slip out of my nightclothes, putting on my uniform in their place. I drag a thick toothed comb through my messy tangle of hair, and pull on my favourite brown leather boots. Once I'm content that I'm ready, I make my way out into the main restaurant.

It's almost deserted due to the early hour. Rays of early morning golden sunshine peer through the little windows of the restaurant, illuminating the space. I cast my gaze around, taking in the surrounding area. Kina is leant over the serving counter, slicing up a loaf of crusty bread. Karane, Fledge and Pipit are sat at the table, crunching on apples and chatting happily. As for Callia and Bryarly, they're stood around another table, carefully packing gear into a pack that I've never seen before.

I frown "where'd you get that?"

Bryarly snaps up to look at me, a smile spreading across her face. "Kina gave it to us, she's been such a big help."

"Don't worry about it," Kina says, smiling.

"Are you hungry?" Pipit asks, reaching into the apple bowl and picking out a ripe red one. He expertly twists the stalk in his hands, pulling it off, before tossing the apple across to me.

"Thanks," I reply, taking a bite of the deliciously juicy apple.

"So," Karane says as I take a seat across the table from her. "What's out plan of action for today?"

"I'm not sure…" Fledge mumbles, "we've no idea where Link or Zelda have gone."

"So we go a back to the old lady in the temple," I say, shrugging. "She helped us before; I don't see why she wouldn't again."

"What if she can't help us?" Callia asks.

"Then we'll figure it out!" Pipit says smoothly. "Trust me; everything will be fine as long as we keep our wits about us."

Suddenly, a gentle cough can be heard from over at the serving counter. Everyone turns to look at Kina, who's blushing a little. "I hate to cut your visit short," she says "but it's not long now until customers start arriving. If you don't want to get found out, you'll have to make a move soon."

"How long have we got?" Karane asks.

Kina glances out of the window, quickly judging the suns position. "I'd say about half an hour…" she mumbles.

"Right," I say, swallowing the last of the apple and tossing the core into the bin on the other side of the restaurant. "We'd better make a move. Everyone pack up; make sure you've got everything you might need. We'll meet back here in ten minutes and head out, okay?"

And sure enough, ten minutes later, we all stand in the restaurant with bags, satchels and packs split between us. The ever organised Callia is checking that we have everything, ticking each item off a little checklist. Pipit is absent mindedly juggling deku seeds, and Fledge is whistling quietly to himself, hands in his pockets. I, myself, am waiting with crossed arms and bored expression. I've told Callia a thousand times that these checks really aren't necessary.

"There we go!" she says, slipping the list into the front pocket of her satchel. "We're all set! Let's head out!"

Bryarly turns back around, giving Kina a quick hug. "Thanks for everything, Kina!" she says, beaming.

"No worries," Kina smiles "feel free to come back tonight. Who knows, you might even have Link and Zelda with you then!"

"Finger crossed," Fledge smiles.

And with that, the group of us make our way out into the early morning. I pause momentarily, glancing across the vast, open skies, over to Skyloft. The sleepy little community rests, almost tranquil in the clouds. I don't think I've ever missed my home quite as much…

"Come on," Bryarly says, taking my arm.

We all make our way down the wooden steps over to the lumpy pumpkin's vegetable patch. We walk between bright orange pumpkins, planted in neat rows. I feel the wooden decking or a diving platform tapping beneath my feet as I ready myself to jump. I take a few steps away from the edge, preparing myself to run, when suddenly I feel a warm hand on my shoulder.

"What is it?" I ask, looking down to find Pipit holding me back.

"I don't think we have to go to the old lady," Pipit says, pointing at a tall red column of light.

"Wow!" Karane exclaims.

"Well," Callia says, "That must be were Link has gone… right?"

"Exactly!" I laugh. "So what are we waiting for? Come on! There's obviously more on the surface that we haven't explored yet!"

We drop off the Lumpy Pumpkin Island and whistle for our Loftwings. Callia takes the lead and we fly to the column of light. I'm wondering what we will find there... We arrive and drop off our Loftwings. I take out my sailcloth and land softly on the ground. I immediately notice this area is even more uncommon then the woods were. Every were I look around me I see rocks and red.

"What is this place?" Karane says, looking around.

"I have no idea..." Pipit mumbles, walking forward.

I walk towards the large sea of red, and reach my hand out.

"I wouldn't do that!" Bryarly yells.

I quickly pull my hand back. "What? Why not?"

"Well, we don't know what's in it!" Callia yells.

"Think about what we have learned... A red substance..." Bryarly says.

"It's lava! Or magma, whatever. Isn't it like really hot?" Callia says.

And I wanted to stick my hand in it… great.

"So the place where we are must be a volcano!" Pipit says.

Bryarly nods. She probably knows about it from school. I never really paid much attention, except for the combat training of course. Everything was all so boring and useless. Well… Not everything apparently.

"Ok..." Karane says "I think we're all agreed that we're going nowhere near that stuff unless we want to burn to a crisp! Anyway, enough about that, let's just move on and find Link!"

"Which way would he have gone?" I ask, looking around.

"I don't know," I reply "but let's just follow the path and see where it takes us, there's bound to be a clue somewhere!"

So that's exactly what we do. Karane, Pipit, and I walk ahead of the group, swords ready just in case anything attacks us. It takes us a little while to follow the path, but eventually we reach a more open area. There's a large stony mound in the middle with air gusts leading up towards it.

"What's that?" Bryarly asks, nodding towards it.

"I don't know..." Pipit replies "But come on! Let's go check it out!"

We all grin at each other, breaking out into a run as we head along the path. We're close to reaching the area we want to investigate, when suddenly two creatures pop up from the ground in front of us.

Pipit lets out a suppressed yelp and points his sword at the creature as I take a step forward, one eyebrow raised.

"Enough of ya' creeps movin' in on our turf!" one creature yells.

"EXCUSE ME!?" I screech, startled by their impoliteness.

"You 'eard us!" his companion replies "first the red ones, then two of you guys... and all of yus... we was 'ere first! Scram!"

"Wait, did Link and Zelda come down here?" Pipit asks.

"Link and Zelda? Never 'eard of em, scram!" the thing replies.

"Why you rude, creatures!" I spit. "Our friends are in trouble and you just tells us to go away when it seems like you know something!"

"Fine, fine," the other one says. "If we tell ya kids who we saw then will ya beat it?"

We nod, waiting for information.

"We did see a few of your kind down here, one was wearing a green tunic and one was a blonde girl."

"That must be Link and Zelda!" Karane says.

"Were they together? Has Link already found Zelda?" Bryarly asks.

"Look, I donno wat y'want this info for but if y'must know, no, they came a few hours apart," one of them replies.

"Ok, thanks, we'll continue on our adventure now." Callia says.

"Good. And don't come back because we don't want a bunch a kids runin' to us for help!" and with that they bury themselves into the ground.

"Well aren't they frickin' charming," Karane mumbles sarcastically as she replaces her sword in its scabbard.

Callia laughs a little, shrugging. "All right, just ignore them Karane. They're probably just afraid they'll lose their 'turf' as they put it! Don't think about it, let's just press on!"

"So how are we meant to press on?" Bryarly asks, frowning.

"Hmm..." Fledge says, looking around "There's only really one path to take! So come on!"

We all nod, heading off along the stone pathway. We make our way into a small cave area, where we have to negotiate the timing of rising and falling levels of lava. I can see that Callia is pretty scared, and to admit, I'm kind of scared to get burned alive too.

But eventually we pass the lava area, and find ourselves in another cave room. This one is full of little round blue flowers... they look kind of dangerous... another one of the creatures we met before sits in the centre of the room looking rather bored.

"Huh? Other ones?" the creature says, "you guys a friend of the green and blonde one?"

"Yes!" Karane says.

"Here to pick bomb flowers too?" he asks.

We look at each other, confused. Why are these things always talking so weird?

"Bomb flowers?" Pipit asks.

The creature sighs. "Yup. They're for blowing up stuff. You can throw them, or roll them. Pretty useful."

"So we can keep them if we pick them up?" Fledge asks.

"What? No! Unless you want to blow up. You'll need a bomb bag for that," he laughs.

"Anyway, do you know where the 'green and blonde ones' went to?" Callia asks.

"The green guy went that way," he points at a tunnel.

"Let's go then." Bryarly says, moving forward.

"Oh my goddess..." Callia mumbles, watching all the Bokoblins screeching at us from platforms half way up the sand slope laid out before us.

I'm trying to find a way to knock them down, but there are so many...

"What are meant to do?" Bryarly asks.

"We could always run it," I suggest.

Fledge frowns. "Yeah, but then what if the Bokoblins come after us?"

"Then we fight them off!" Pipit replies.

We all nod to each other, lining ourselves up along the foot of the slope. With a countdown from Karane, we all begin to run. We split left and right so we can move around the platform and get up on top of it. By the time we reach the platform, I'm running dangerously low on stamina. My heart is thudding hard against my chest and I'm short for breath, but we're here. I quickly tackle the Bokoblin and sends him flying down the sandy slope, before something rolls past us.

I frown, turning to look further up the slope to where another Bokoblin stands, a large boulder in his hands. He throws it downhill, aiming at Bryarly who jumps out the way in the last second.

"What do we do about that guy?" she yelps.

"Try shooting it with our slingshot!" Pipit suggests.

I nod and aim at the Bokoblin and fire. It barely reaches him, but with only a couple of inches it does hit him and the Bokoblin falls over and drops the giant boulder, which is now coming towards us in a large pace.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Callia screams and we all move to the left side of the platform.

"Let's go up!" Bryarly yells and so we do. Above, we find, to our disbelief, a village of Bokoblins. They all shriek at the sight of us and they come running towards us.

"I'll take these two on the left!" I say, running to defeat them. They aren't hard to tackle since their movements are quite easy to figure out.

"I'll take the ones on the right." Pipit says, "Everyone else do the middle ones!"

Just as I think we're safe, a loud trumpeting noise erupts from above us. We all look up, startled by this sudden interruption. A Bokoblin sits atop a large tower, holding some kind of horn. It's made out of what appears to be animal bone or tusk, and lets out a loud noise.

"He's summoning help," Fledge mumbles.

"We've got to do something, quick!" Bryarly says.

Pipit laughs "Relax, I've got this." He makes his way over towards a small patch of bomb flowers. He picks one, running cautiously with it towards the base of the tower. He stoops downwards, bowling the bomb underneath the tower just as it explodes. The Bokoblin lets out a loud screech as the wooden structure collapses down. He disappears into a puff of smoke on the other end of the tower, which now acts as a bridge to cross the magma.

We all clamber over the make-shift bridge. We run through a tunnel infested with flaming bats, climb a giant vine wall, and tackle the biggest chuchu that I've ever seen. But eventually, we find ourselves facing something all too familiar.

"Oh goddess, not again!" Bryarly exclaims, studying the large sand slop laid out before us.

I sigh. "Right, come on, let's head up!"

We dash up the slope and stop at the first platforms to tackle some Bokoblins.

"Watch it!" Callia screams as a large boulder comes towards us. We jump out of the way and Pipit shoots the Bokoblin down with his slingshot. On the next platform three Bokoblins with boulders stand ready to fire. Bryarly, Karane and me shoot them down after they fired and we dash up to the top.

"Oh my..." Bryarly mutters as we see the beautiful large temple in front of me. The wall and pillars are covered in tiny blue mosaic stones and on the red large door there are two white dragons shown.

"Link has been here..." Karane says, looking at what appears to be an opened lock.


	12. Zurin

**Hello :D It's Franne! Didn't expect that huh? Well, I actually wrote the last half of the previous chapter, and no one noticed! I think. This chapter has been written by me, and edited by BFH! But thanks to my beautiful collab partners, PrincesscharmingKnight, Knuckles and BlueFrenchHorn97 of course, and also to the wonderful reviewers! That's ButterflyBabyBlue, CreCra, Neez, Yuki onna, ShadowNinja1011, Neez, and ZeldaFan! This chapter is done in my own OC's POV, Bryarly!**

* * *

The one thing I've noticed while dungeon crawling, is the intense heat the temple gives off. The others seem to have felt it as much as I do, because I'm not the only one taking of my jacket. I wish I could take off other pieces of clothing, but that isn't really possible if I want to stay safe. I watch as Pipit removes his yellow hat, using it mop his brow before replacing it over his messy brown hair. I try my best to stifle a laugh as he shoots me a confused look.

"Why not just take off your hat?"

He gives me a crooked smile. "My hat is awesome; I wouldn't be me without it!"

This temple has certainly proved more dangerous than the last. Between the sweltering heat, the vast quantities of lava, and the new lizard-like enemies that swarm here, it's a risky adventure for sure. A couple of times, flaming bats have caused peoples uniform to scorch and burn. On one occasion, the ever confident Leala almost fell into the Lava. If it wasn't for Karane's quick reactions, she wouldn't have survived.

We head through another golden door with a blue gem in the centre. To everyone's disappointment, we're faced with yet another large slope only this one is made of mosaic tiles. It looks way longer than any of the ones we've seen so far and I don't know if we'll be able to get up it.

"What is it with these people and their slopes?" Fledge whines.

"How about we just run for it like before?" Leala asks.

"Wait Leala, that's not such a good ide-" Pipit begins but she has already started running.

Suddenly a large number of heavy rocks come crashing down on top of her, sending her sliding back down the slope. We all have to quickly jump out of the way to avoid being crushed. The boulders roll right past us, dropping into the thin slither of magma and sinking out of view.

"I'm fine," Leala says, but she has grazes all over her skin.

"Well how will we get up there?" Karane asks.

"Look! There's some sort of side platform there. What if we dash up there, through the series of rocks and wait until they are gone so we can continue?" Callia says.

"Smart! Great idea!" I say, patting Callia on her back.

One by one we do as Callia said. It certainly isn't an elegant plan, but we manage just manage to survive. It certainly helped to go one at a time; I dread to think what it would have been like with all of us. We finally all reach the top, kind of exhausted. Up at the top is a large dragon head sticking out of the wall, surrounded by a pool of lava. Suddenly we hear a loud noise, coming from under the dragon head.

"Maybe it's Link!" Karane yells.

"He can't be far gone... he just can't be," Leala mumbles, taking a deep breath as she runs deeper into the dungeon. We all follow just a few paces behind her. Pipit, Karana and Leala are all wielding swords and Callia, Fledge and I rush in all a panic.

"LINK! ZELDA!" Pipit yells into the large open room as we enter.

The only reply that we're met with is silence and our own footsteps.

I let out a heavy sigh. "Let's start searching for a way forward."

"Hold on… What's this...?" Callia mumbles, leaning down to inspect the pile smouldering rocks that lie at the bottom of this steep slope.

"Who knows," I reply, "but we don't have time to worry! We need to move on, the longer we delay, the worse this will get..."

I grab her roughly by the hand as our group begins to dash up the slope. My feet are already aching in my brown leather boots. I can feel blisters bubbling between my toes... but Karane is insistent that Link is nearby. We're close to the doorway, just like in the previous temple, that must be our path forward. Yet... something stops me dead in my tracks.

A figure is blocking our way, leaning casually up against the doorframe. He glances upwards, blue eyes glimmering beneath thick goggles. A maroon cowl covers the majority of his facial features, and it perfectly matches the tunic and trousers that he wears. Creamy white gloves and boots encase his limbs. Even the cloth that is wrapped around his waist and falls backwards is a creamy white colour. I can't fight the scowl falling over my facial features as I realise that the colours of his clothes are almost identical to the self-proclaimed Demon Lord, Ghirahim.

Pipit narrows his eyes, determination setting over him as he presses his lips together, thrusting his sword forward. "Friend or foe?" he demands.

"Isn't that an interesting question..." the creature replies. I'm a little taken aback by the surprisingly nervous tone to his voice. A shiver runs down my spine. What is happening? He tilts his head upwards a little, revealing a little more of his expression. I was expecting a cruel smirk or twisted smile, instead, he appears almost afraid. His lips purse as he swallows hard, casting his gaze over us.

"I could go on for hours about the logical fallacies of a binary system where others are designated as friend or foe, but I think I'll just shut my trap and get to the point before your point cuts me open." He tilts his head back a little, trying to put distance between him and Pipit's blade. "My name is Zurin, and to be blunt with you I'm probably the only demon that doesn't kill or enslave other people. I actually like humans, Gorons, and all the other children of the goddesses. It might be hard to believe, but I'd be willing to help you and I certainly don't want to hurt you. As a sign of goodwill, I will aid you in whatever way you want. I can't make miracles like some sort of walking Triforce, but I can tell you whatever you want to know and even transport you quickly to wherever you want. I'll even fight by your side if you want me to!"

I narrow my eyes. I don't trust him at all. A _demon_ that wants to help? Please.

"Group deliberation!" Pipit yells, lowering his sword gesturing us over. "Should we trust him?"

"I don't trust him for one bit," I admit. "He looks like that other guy that wants Zelda and that wants to kill Link! What if he wants to do the same? And he said it, he's a freaking demon!"

"I don't know what to think," Fledge sighs. "He looks kind of creepy... And Bryarly is kind of right."

"He could come in handy though..." Karane sighs. "But then again..."

"Come in handy?!" Callia exclaims "HOW!? Bryarly is right, he's a self-confessed DEMON! What if he tries to kill us?"

"If he wanted us dead, he'd have done it by now," Leala sighs.

Karane nods. "Yeah, I'm with Leala. There's no reason why we shouldn't trust him."

Callia sighs. "Fine, say we let him come along with us. How exactly are we going to explain to Kina that there's a Demon sleeping in her restaurant?"

"We'll figure it out," Karane insists.

"Enough debate!" Leala says "Let's take a vote... who says he should come?"

Leala, Karane and Pipit raise their hands.

"Who says he shouldn't?"

Fledge, Callia and I raise ours.

Callia scoffs. "Great plan Leala."

Suddenly, a loud cough sounds out from behind us. The surprisingly mild mannered Demon takes a step closer to us, and says, "If I may interject here... I think it would be wise to continue this debate in the next room. You should find the temperature there to be much more habitable."

He is kind of right. We are pretty fatigued and dehydrated by the heat. We move into the chamber of the Earth Spring to continue the confrontation. The glittering stones and crystal-clear water in the cavern are a wonder to behold.

"Now, I think the most immediate thing I can offer you is information." Zurin states. "After watching the movements of the girl Zelda for a while, I've deduced she is preparing herself for some divine ritual by visiting all of the sacred areas on the surface world. I saw her leave the Skyview Spring and we can all say that she was in this temple recently, so the only location left for her to visit is the Temple of Time at Lanayru Desert. If you want to find your friend Zelda, and more importantly that boy Link tailing her, you'll want to head there.

"If you decide to let me into your group, I can teleport us to the entrance of the temple and we will be on our way. I presume that you'll want to visit that Kina woman you mentioned to rest, so as long as one of you would let me hitchhike on your giant bird creature I would be fine accompanying you. I can lay low once I get to wherever you're staying; don't worry about that."

"A teleporting demon would be even more helpful!" Leala says, shooting me a dirty look. "That's yet another reason that we should let him join us."

"We also really need to get back to Skyloft and rest," Pipit says.

Callia and I roll our eyes.

"Fine," says Callia. "This demon guy can come with us for now but if he turns out to be a bad guy after all, don't say we didn't warn you."

* * *

I let out a low grunt as we make our way out of the temple towards the nearest bird statue. I can't believe they trust him. I just can't believe it. This might be the most stupid decision they have ever made, and I just feel that he will kill us all when we are sleeping. Maybe he's just like that other guy. What if he wants Zelda too? Or Link? I have to admit, it's handy that he knows where to head next. The temple of time, I remember that place from my history book. It sounds interesting.

Suddenly I get an idea. "If you are a teleporting demon, why exactly do you have to come with us to the sky?" I ask. "If you want to help us, can't you just give us a signal or something we have to give you so you know we need help?"

"If that is what you wish, I can stay on the ground and meet you tomorrow," Zurin nods. "When you're back on the surface, we can contact each other with this," he says, pulling out a small, blue stone. "This is a gossip stone of sorts that allows long-distance communication. Whenever you want to talk to me, hold the stone close and talk into it; I'll be able to hear your instructions regarding where we will regroup on the surface. Likewise, if we get separated I can talk to you; the stone can speak my words as if I were right beside you." He secured the stone in a thin leather strip, making a necklace for ease of access. I'll entrust this to you, Leala; my services are yours to command. I look forward to seeing you all again!" And with that, the demon disappeared.

"Happy?" Leala asks me, looking a bit accusative.

"Yes," I admit. I'm glad he accepted the offer. I just don't like the feeling having a demon breathing in my neck.

"Where to now? The Lumpy Pumpkin?" Pipit asks.

Callia sighs. "Guess so."

* * *

Later that night, I find myself silently padding through the walls of the Lumpy Pumpkin. Sleep has managed to elude me. I'm so worried about everything that any time I lay my head on the pillow, it's like my mind won't leave me in peace. I'm still worried about where Link and Zelda are, and if they're safe. I feel guilty for making everyone in Skyloft worry about us, and I still don't feel like I can trust that Demon Zurin.

I gently open the bedroom door, and I see that Callia looks up.

"Are you awake?" I whisper.

"Yeah," she replies "I think Leala's asleep though."

I pad softly into the room, and she lifts up the edge of her duvet so I can settle in next to her. When we were little and one of us had a nightmare, we'd always go and find the other. That's one advantage of sleeping in your school.

"I can't sleep..." I mumble.

"Why's that?" Callia whispers, being careful not to wake Leala.

"I still don't trust that Demon guy..." I reply. "I think Leala is being really quite naive to trust him..."

"Me too," Callia sighs. "But you know that you can't talk Leala out of something once her mind is set on it..."

I sigh. "I know. At least we know where to go to next."

"Yeah, luckily. You know, I feel so guilty now that Kina told us that everyone is worried sick about us," Callia says.

"Tell me about it. If we ever show our faces back at the academy, we'll be expelled for sure," I mumble. The headmaster is probably so disappointed in us.

Callia inhales deeply. "Yeah, but that's not our main problem for now. I wonder when we will see Zelda and Link again, if we ever see them that is."

"Me too. I miss them so much." Especially Link. I never told my friends I had a crush on Link. And I wasn't planning on telling them either, not even Callia or Leala. I just couldn't.

Callia frowns, propping herself up on her elbow and looking down at me. I feel so forlorn.

"Bryarly?" she whispers. "What's wrong?"

"I just... just..." I whisper. My voice cracks and I'm on the verge of tears. Sure enough, tears begin to swell in my eyes. I blink furiously, washing them away. "Never mind..."

"No, come on, tell me!" she insists.

"No," I say stubbornly, rolling over. "Forget I said anything."

"But you-"

"Goodnight," I spit, immediately regretting being so mean.

I hear Callia sigh, collapsing back on her pillow and accepting defeat.

But I can't tell them. I just can't.


	13. Lanayru Desert

**Hey guys! Franne again. So, we are happy you guys liked Zurin! :) It's a lot of fun to do this with yet another interesting character. But let's thank the reviewers shall we? Thanks to ButterflyBabyBlue, ShadowNinja1011, teithant, MasterShortPantsx3, igottawiimote and Neez! As always, this was edited by BlueFrenchHorn 97. This chapter is from Callia's POV.**

My eyes are aching as I slowly open them to the sunlight that streams through the thin nylon curtains. It pools over my duvet and onto the soft green carpet that covers the room. I roll over, inhaling deeply as I glance over towards Bryarly's bed. It's only as I see the sheets tossed aside that I realise she's already gone. That's weird… I'm usually first up! How long did I sleep? I hurriedly clamber out of my warm comfortable bed and drag on the clothes that now lie neatly folded on my dresser.

I head into the main restaurant for some breakfast. Everyone except for Bryarly is already sitting at the large table. I take a piece of bread and butter and walk over to the other table were our backpacks and pouches are spread out. Pipit is looking for things we need to replenish. I go to stand next to him, and I try to help him. I make a short list with all the items we have got from Kina, and the ones we had previously. Suddenly Bryarly walks in, and she takes a piece of bread and butter before walking over to us.

"So, do we have everything?" she asks.

"Yeah, we've got some food, deku nuts, potions and even a new shield for Leala! Kina is too nice," Pipit laughs.

"She is," Bryarly laughs too.

Just at that moment, Kina makes her way into the room holding a bowl full of fruit. Pipit, fuelled by his appetite, dashes over to her and grabs one of the apples from the bowl. He offers her his thanks and then goes to join Karane who's sat at the dining table. This leaves just me and Bryarly stood by the bags. I swallow hard, trying to busy myself with packing the items into the pouches. If I'm honest, I'm still feeling a little confused by last night. What couldn't she tell me?

"Hey Callia?" Bryarly asks.

"Yes?" I reply.

"Sorry that I was so mean last night," she apologizes.

I smile, a little relieved that she made the first move. I'd hate to fight with her, she's pretty much my best friend. I'm glad things are good now between us again. "It's ok. And you don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to, I say, despite the fact that I do want to know what's going on in her mind, but I figure that it's best to stay quiet about it for now.

"Thanks. You're the best," Bryarly says as she reaches forward to hug me.

I giggle as we break apart. The two of us then make our way back over to the table and I perch myself down on a stool as Kina weaves between us, clearing empty plates and glasses.

"How's the search going?" she asks.

Leala sighs. "We're closer, but not there yet. But we met a friendly demon who's agreed to help us."

Kina stops still, gasping "A demon?" she exclaims. Bryarly, Fledge and I exchange nervous glances.

"Yeah," Leala continues, completely oblivious. "His name is Zurin and he's agreed to be like a guide for us."

"Oh..." Kina utters. "You be careful."

"Oh don't worry," I say, helping myself to some grapes and cheese. "We will!"

As we step outside, the fair wind hits me, throwing my hair about my face and ruffling my uniform. It sends a cool chill through to my bones, but I'm not all too fussed. I know that it's warmer down in Faron woods, so I didn't bother to put on any extra layers. I turn my attention towards the rest of the group, who are discussing the bright yellow beacon that's appeared in the sky. They decide that it must be our next destination.

"Well..." Leala says, producing the gossip stone from her pouch "I guess it's time we called Zurin."

"Maybe you should wait until we actually reach the new place," Fledge suggests quietly.

"Good idea," I say, "I don't think he can fit on our birds. Or that he can fly."

"Fine," Leala says.

We jump down and call our birds, and we fly to the new column of light that bursts through the clouds. Pipit is first to take the plunge, with Karane and Leala not far behind him. I shoot Bryarly a nervous look, and she gives me a confident nod. I swallow hard, take a deep breath, and propel myself from my Loftwing as I fumble for my sailcloth. This area looks, well, yellow, dry and sandy... We've apparently found ourselves in some kind of desert place. Leala looks for her gossip stone and tries to talk to Zurin.

"Hey Zurin, are you there?" she asks.

The stone glows and he replies. "Yes I'm here. What do you want me to help you with?"

"We're in a large dessert kind of area...do you know where we are?" she asks again.

"You've touched down in the Lanayru Desert. It's a dangerous place; a lot of the enemies there are electrically charged, and the rivers of sand can drag you under to your death if you don't sprint across them. Your destination is on the far side of an abandoned mine used to collect time shift stones; crystals capable of creating a time-break when struck with adequate force. I saw your descent from where I am now. My location appears to be a canyon very close by, so it should be easy enough for me to catch up and find you."

"Thanks." Leala replies. "See you soon."

She turns to us. "See, we can trust him. If he wanted to kill us then he wouldn't have told us about the quicksand and the electric monsters."

"I still don't trust him.." I say. Bryarly nods in agreement.

"Let's just be careful, ok?" Pipit says. "He seems alright so let's trust him for now."

I look around, and I can see that there is a lot more land to discover then all the other areas had. Right now, I can't see any of the sinking sand the demon had mentioned, but we appear to be in what he had called a mining facility, or at least the very beginning of it. This land is hot, but not as hot as the previous one. It's mainly dry, and I'm happy we have got plenty of water with us to stay hydrated. We go through some tunnels until we reach a large construction site. There is a big blue stone in the centre, and it's surrounded by two sets of tracks.

After a bit of travelling through the canyon and parts of the mines, Zurin finally catches up with us as we come to a fork in the road. He strolls over, a small bounce in his step. It's difficult to tell with his cowl in the way, but I think he might be smiling. As he reaches us, he begins to study the forked pathways. One way is blocked by an iron door, and the other to the left has a long river of sand with one of the time shift stones at the far end.

"Hey, this is a good time to try out something. Could one of you try to hit that stone on the far end of the sand?" he says.

Using a slingshot, Pipit takes aim and hits the stone. The impact causes it to glow brightly, and suddenly a strange bubble of energy expands from the stone. Everything the energy touches seems to become fresh and young again; the rocks gleam with untapped ores, grass grows in the soil, and the river of sand is replaced with a mossy floor. Deku Babas that originally lived in the cave appear as well, but they are easily taken care of. It's beautiful.

"Fascinating," Zurin muses. "I've never seen a time shift stone in action before. It seems the active stones' energies draw everything nearby back into the past. We can use these stones to re-activate doors and machinery if needed. Truly amazing!"

Just as expected, the large door blocking the second passage is powered up in the past, and opens for the group after hopping on the mine cart.

We go through the door and the cart ends in a large open area with loads of sand everywhere you look. At the far west of us, there is a large sign that I recognize from history lessons. It is a bird, holding up a triangle. It's usually displayed in gold, but this one appears to be made out of solid set stone. If memory serves me correctly, it's called the Goddess Crest, and was left as a symbol to mark a holy area or object.

"We have arrived at Lanayru Desert," the demon informs us.

"Wow..." Karane mumbles, looking around.

We drop off the ledge and try to avoid weird creatures with a large shell that charge at us. A bit further, we see another time shift stone, locked up in a cage. Pipit hits it with a deku nut, and it changes a small area around the cage into the past. But unfortunately, two of the Bokoblins we have encountered many times before also erupt into life. I don't worry about them too much. That is, until I see the electrically charged weapons that they wield.

"Just a moment, everyone. I think I can resolve this peacefully," Zurin remarks as he walks up to the creatures. Everyone else seems a bit unsure that negotiating with a Bokoblin would go well, but it's worth a try.

As he approaches the closest creature, it eyes him suspiciously through its goggles. "Hey, since we're both demons I'm sure we can come so some sort of-" the Bokoblin wastes almost no time in batting away Zurin, who is sent flying back from the electric shock. "Please, I don't want to harm you! Can't you listen to me?" Zurin pleads, still on the ground. Undaunted, the enemy closes in again and raises its weapon for another hit.

"No!" Leala yells, trying to hit it with her sword. She hits it successfully, but now it charges at her. She can quickly dodge it. However, I myself, never having been much good at combat, fail to react in time. The hissing, fizzing, weapon hits me right on me leg and I cry from the pain the electric shock sends through my whole body.

"Callia no!" Bryarly yells, dashing at me while Pipit and the others take care of the Bokoblins. She offers me comforting words in an attempt to sooth me and to keep me calm so I don't move too much, but even she can't distract me from the raw sting that reverberates through my leg. Sobs are shaking my diaphragm, threatening to send tears streaming down my cheeks. I force myself to compress it. Stop being such a child, Callia!

Everyone in the group is reacting differently… and my confused mind can't make sense of it all. Karane is yelling, Leala is examining my leg, Bryarly gasps at the damage, Pipit is pacing back and forth, and Fledge keeps a nervous distance. Zurin on the other hand, is nowhere in sight. I try to make sense of it all between the searing blasts of pain that jolt through my leg. Why is everything such a mess?

"Callia... you're-" Leala begins.

"Forget about me!" I yelp, cutting her off as I try to ignore the pain spreading across my shin. "Zurin... where's Zurin?"

"Over here..." comes a soft mumble from a few feet away. Everyone looks up from where I lie on the ground, turning to see Zurin as he clambers up to his feet. Patches of his tunic are frazzled from the electric weapon that Bokoblin had, and he seems a little disoriented. He shakes his head, blinking a couple of times.

"Great," Bryarly sighs. "Two injuries. Brilliant idea Zurin! Let's try and negotiate with a freaking Bokoblin!"

"I just-" he begins.

"No! Thanks to you, Callia can't even stand up, let alone walk!" Bryarly yells.

"Hey, Zurin got hurt too!" Karane cuts in.

"Enough!" I shout, pushing myself to sit up a little straighter. "Bickering won't help us find Link, let's just get to that temple of time you were talking about ASAP, Zurin."

"But you can't even walk..." Fledge mutters from the back of the group.

Zurin turns to look at me, and I watch an expression of guilt set over his visible features. He falters for a few moments, before rummaging through his pouch and producing a bottle with a red potion inside. He takes a few steps closer, offering out the bottle.. "Your leg is broken. It can be fixed here, but we'll need to add a bit of power to this potion."

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised by the swiftness of the demons' responses. I think everyone is. Zurin unplugs the bottle, then removes a few dried insects from a pouch he conjured; two butterflies, a beetle, and a ladybug. Some of the group recognize this process and are surprised that Zurin knows how to improve potions. "You learn a few things by living on your own for a while," he comments. "But anyway, our destination is northwest of here. After I teleport us across the sand it should be in view."

After mixing the bugs into the red potion with a quick stir and shake, Zurin hands the bottle to me. "I'm really sorry about the Bokoblins. If it wasn't for me you would be fine..."

"Whatever." I reply. "Let's just move on so we can find Link and Zelda."

We stand in silence, observing the doors to the temple of time. Then entrance is caved in, with rubble cluttering the only path forward. I hate admitting defeat, especially not in important situations like this. But even I have to admit that I don't think there's any way for us to get in. I cast a glance around to my friends, but they all look as baffled as I am. I feel a small sigh setting over me as I shift my weight onto my uninjured leg.

"Hey, It's you lot again!" says a voice from behind us.

"It's Gorko!" Leala says as we walk over to talk to him.

"Who's your new friend?" he asks, pointing to Zurin.

"I am a demon called Zurin." he replies.

"A demon?!" Gorko says, "What are you kids doing, walking around with a demon?"

"He's a nice demon." Leala explains.

"Well you kids be careful, ok?" he says. "Oh yeah, by the way, I saw Link a while ago!"

"Really? Where?" Bryarly asks.

"I talked to him right here. He was going to a place called Lanayru Mining Facility..." Gorko says.

"Pardon me, but I'm-" Before Zurin could argue, the ground began to shake violently. Behind us, the large pit of sand churned and swelled as a gargantuan building raised itself out of the desert. As the earthquake dissipated, a single figure could be seen sprinting up the steps toward an entrance, most likely the way to the mining facility. With that green outfit and sword, the person could only be...

"Link!" Bryarly shouts. She was indeed right; it seemed the Temple of Time was his destination, but the way must be blocked for the hero to consider the underground route. From what Zurin told us on the way over… it's pretty unsafe. At any rate, our primary purpose was to catch up with Link, so we would have to follow him into the depths of the facility.

"Well, I suppose we'll follow Link into the facility then. Thank you for the information, Sir Gorko," Zurin said. The Goron furrowed his brow, both in bafflement and slight distrust of Zurin.

"Hrmmm, don't mention it." With their objective clear, the heroes made way toward the facility entrance. We saw Link. It gave me a sense of hope. I truly missed him and Zelda.

We go towards the facility. Zurin teleports us as close as he can by the building and we enter. It looks very old, and just as sandy and dry as the outside environment. Dust covers the floor and walls, and the light in here is very dim. Regardless, we sit down on the floor to drink some water. Truth be told, I'm having a hard time hiding my pain. I don't feel like the potion is really helping. I just feel a bit numb. I'm constantly gritting my teeth and pressing my nails in my palm. I don't want to tell them, because I don't want to be a problem.

"Callia," Bryarly sighs.

I look at her. "What?"

"You can't go on like this," she says, putting her hand on my knee.

"Of course I can. Why not?" I say, trying to make it look like nothing.

"Callia, You broke your leg. When Leala fell out of a tree in Skyloft, it took her ten weeks before she recovered," she says, and Leala nods.

"Who says my leg is broken? And by the way, that's because Leala refused to take any potions," Callia says.

"That's true. And Zurin said that it was broken!" Leala says.

I look at Zurin. "Are you sure it's broken?"

"Yes," he replies. "But we can reduce the time for it to heal, though it will still take a day."

"No, no, no!" I yell out. "I can't just stay here!"

"That's right," Karane says. "Not alone."

"And we can't really miss anyone..." Pipit sighs.

"What if I stay here?" Fledge asks, a bit timid. "I'm not that useful, and I don't mind."

"Fledge! You are just as useful as everyone!" Leala protests.

Fledge blushes a bit. "I don't mind, really."

This isn't fair. I don't want to have to stay here in the entrance to a dungeon, all the while knowing that Link is so close by. I don't want to miss a thing. This adventure is dangerous, it's risky, and at times it's terrifying. But it's the most fun I've had in a long time, and I need to know what's happened to Link and Zelda. I don't want to be left behind, but I know deep down that Bryarly is right.

"Why don't the two of you go back to the sky?" Zurin asks. "Fledge can take you on his loftwing, and when the group returns in the evening, you'll see everyone then." It's almost like he can read my thoughts.

"But I don't wanna miss anything..." I whisper.

"You'll be fine," Leala says, pulling me up to my feet and taking my bags from me.

"Look at it this way," Bryarly says. "You either miss one day of adventuring to recover, or miss the rest of the journey because you've messed up your leg."

I sigh. "Fine..."

"Come on," Fledge smiles "you'll see everyone tonight."

Pipit pats Fledge on the back and Bryarly, Karane, and Leala hug me as the two of us make our way over to the door.

"Look after her," Zurin calls to Fledge.

"I promise," he replies.

**A quick note, if you happen to be interested, feel free to check out my most recent story: Red Tears. Sorry for advertising!**


	14. The Legend of Groose

**Hey guys! Franne, again. We reached 100 reviews! :D Yaaay! My collab partners and me are so happy! Thank you all so much for your support. So, thanks to ButterflyBabyBlue, MasterShortPantsx3, ShadowNinja1011, igottawiimote, teithant and DarkTayl for reviewing! As usual, this was written by me and edited by BlueFrenchHorn97! This chapter is from Leala's POV.**

**BHF97 here with 2 quick notes! First of all, apologies for the delay of this chapter. The holidays have been stupidly busy for us, which means it took forever to get this up! And secondly, a very lovely reader has been so kind as to draw a picture of my OC Callia! You can find the picture on my facebook page (there's a link in my profile!) Thank you ButterflyBabyBlue!**

* * *

It seems like from here onwards, the dungeons just get worse and worse. The first one we experienced, though damp and scary – was temperate, had clean water, and was lit by the bright mushrooms. The last one was hot, swelteringly moist and coated in pools of lava. And this… well this is thoroughly unenjoyable. The entire vicinity is crawling with tiny creatures that leap out of the sand and attack you. Bokoblins with electrically charged weapons roam the rooms, and we're all nervous about fighting them after what they did to Callia. That's not even mentioning the tall robotic creatures that shoot lasers if you get close enough.

But we've made it through, and find ourselves in a long narrow room. A seemingly endless collection of statues line the walls. Each one of them is modelled after the little robots we saw outside in the desert. I find myself smiling as I take in just how cute the little creatures are. I quickly snap my attention back to the present, noticing the mine cart track that runs out ahead of me. It's too dark to see where the track ends, but there's no time to hesitate.

"I hate those things…" Karane whines. "It's such a squash to fit us all in."

Moments letter, a terrified scream rips from outside. We all turn, facing towards the noise, suddenly alert. Rocks can be heard cascading downwards, smashing against each other as they crumble. I can make out muffled yelps, and words that I can't decipher. Then comes the laugh… a cruel, gut wrenching cackle that rips effortlessly through that air. As I study the expressions on my friends faces, I realise that they must know it too.

"Come on, come on!" Zurin hurries, flapping his hands as we all try and cram into the mine cart. It's an uncomfortable squash, and Pipit ends up having to sit on the edge with his legs dangling over, but we manage. The vehicle is moving far too slowly though. It trundles along the track, blissfully unaware of the fight I can hear raging outside of these walls. I can't fight the sinking feeling that it's already too late.

Eventually, the mine cart jolts to a stop on the far side of the room. We all scrabble out of the cart. Just as we're reaching back to help Pipit, a thunderous explosion sounds out. It rumbles through the whole room, knocking Bryarly clean off balance. She falls backwards onto the stone. I quickly pick her up and the lot of us dash towards the exit of the room, desperate to find out what the ruckus was about.

The temple courtyard is now quiet, but the signs of a struggle are obvious; debris from the temple entrance is scattered over the floor, and what appears to have been a mechanism made entirely out of gears lies on the far end of a narrow walkway in the centre of the courtyard. Rock dust covers the floor and parts of the path are even blackened from what I'm presuming must have been fire. Whatever happened here, it was bad.

"Well, I guess this is the end of the trail, unless you can think of any other sites Link would visit," Pipit says to Zurin. The demon was too distracted, however, by the pale stones that once formed some sort of structure but were now ruins. Between them, scrawled the tiny scorpion creatures that we saw back in the mining facility.

"Aracha!" Zurin exclaimed.

"Yeah, let's head to- wait, where?" Karane said, slightly confused by Zurin's outburst.

He shook his head in response, "Oh, no, the Aracha is not a place, but rather the name of those tiny scorpions that we saw in the mining facility. They're actually larvae of a much more dangerous type of creature known as the Thousand Year Arachnids, which I'm very surprised we didn't... run... into..."

The last few words tumbled out of the demon's mouth as he saw what the rest of us are staring at. Across the courtyard, emerging over the hill of sand and heading quickly towards the group was a huge, jet black scorpion. My eyes grow big as I watch this giant creature. Bryarly yells in fear.

"Zurin! What the hell do we do!?" I scream.

"Hit the eyes in its claws!" he yells back.

Karane dashes forward and she tries to hit one of his eyes but instead the claw grabs her and she starts screaming for help.

"Karane!" Pipit yells. Karane starts smashing the claw and it releases her. She quickly crawls back to us, but there is no time to wait and see if she is ok. We all try to hit its eyes, and even I'm having a hard time attempting to get a shot in.

"Let's see how it takes one of these!" Zurin shouted, igniting the air around him and hurling the fire at the beast's larger claw. I stare at Zurin in silence as the creature lets out a screech and recoils. Where the hell did he learn to do that? Moments later, the beast opens the claw wide to grab its attacker. Pipit is still close to the monster, and takes the chance to swipe at its exposed eye a few times before the creature uses its tail to bat him aside. The blow looked strong but Pipit mostly blocked it with his own sword. Zurin keeps hitting the larger claw with his fireballs; some hit the eye but most glance off the strong exoskeleton.

Eventually the larger claw takes too much damage and is destroyed thanks to Zurin's magic and Pipit and Karane's swordplay. Me and Bryarly get the hang of the arachnids attack patterns and team up to destroy the smaller claw. The creature isn't done yet however. Letting out an ear-splitting shriek, it exposes its centre eye.

"Good work everyone! The Arachnid might attempt to charge now, so stay back and use arrows!" Zurin yells.

Everyone with the right equipment readies bows and slingshots while Zurin readies his fire. Unfortunately the beast is quicker without the encumbrance of its claws, so the shots either miss or just glance the well-guarded eye.

"Blast! Someone needs to get one good thrust into the eye with their sword to kill- whoa!" Zurin flinches as the beast makes a sudden charge for him. With no sword or shield to take the blow, he's trampled by the monsters' many legs. Though he gets no deep cuts, his head hits the floor hard and Zurin is out cold.

"Zurin!" I yell, dashing towards him. I kneel down beside him, and I try to see what damage the scorpion has done to him.

The rest of my group stays focused on the beast. I sometimes quickly glance between them and Zurin to know what's going on. I see Pipit race forward and stab it in its eye. I realise that I need to help them too, because I'm the best in combat. I decide to race forward too, and I do the same thing as Pipit, while avoiding its charges. We repeat this process a few times, and it screeches loud in defeat. It dissolves into a large purple cloud and I realise that the battle is over. We run back over to Zurin, who is still lying on the ground.

"How is he?" Karane asks. Right at that moment, he opens his eyes.

"What was that?" Bryarly asks out loud.

"A Thousand Year Arachnid," Zurin croaks.

"Will we encounter more? Are they common?" Pipit asks.

"I don't know. What I do know is that one of them probably guarded the mine facility," Zurin answers.

"Wait. It was gone when we were in that large room. Do you mean Link defeated it all by himself?" Bryarly asks with disbelief.

She's probably right. Poor Link. I know Link was strong, but if he has to fight more like this one, or even harder ones... I shiver, as does Bryarly. How did he manage to stay alive?

"Zurin," I say, steering the conversation around. "What the hell was that?"

"Pardon?" he asks, pushing himself up from the ground and straightening his cowl.

"The flames you shot at that thing! Why didn't you tell us you were a fire sorcerer?"

"Oh…" he mumbles, looking down. "I didn't think it was particularly relevant. I mean… I wasn't looking to battle monsters when I agreed to travel with you…"

"You never thought to mention it!?" Bryarly exclaims, clearly shocked.

"Look, lay off him, ok? He just saved us with the fire!" Pipit cuts in. "What's our next course of action, Zurin?"

The demon gets back on his feet, a bit sore from being trampled. "Well, I don't know any other places Zelda would have visited. It would be a good idea for the rest of you to return to the sky for now; see if you can find out about Link. With any luck, he's as stumped as we are. As for myself, I'm going to do a bit of scouting around on the surface, retracing my steps," the demon concludes, looking west towards the woods of Faron. "I'll start back at the forest near the Sealed Grounds. If I find anything over the next few days, I'll let you know. Until then, farewell!" The demon waves goodbye, disappearing into thin air.

"Should we go back to Skyloft then?" I ask.

"Yeah I suppose so," Pipit replies.

"And we can see if Callia has got better," Karane says.

"Let's go," Bryarly concludes.

* * *

As we touch down at the lumpy pumpkin, the sun is just setting over the Sky. It feels good to be back in the windy world I call home. I feel safer with the clouds beneath than above me. I give my feathered friend a small pat, watching as she takes off into the sky again. I turn, to find Callia and Fledge stood in the restaurant gardens with Kina. The three of them appear to be harvesting pumpkins.

"Hi Callia!" I say, happy to see her again. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes! It's still a bit painful, but I can handle it!" she smiles.

We fill her in on what's happened in our absence. I tell her about the mining facility, and hearing the battle happening outside. Pipit, in his typical nature, goes into elaborate detail as he tells the story of the arachnid. He gesticulates wildly with his hands and mimes stabbing the beast in the eye. We all laugh and giggle as we watch him, chipping in our own bits of information. Half way through, Kina vanishes inside to make a fresh batch of soup. We then tell Callia and Fledge all about Zurin's fire abilities, and how he's going to try and find the next location for us. Eventually, Kina calls us all in for dinner.

* * *

Later that evening, as the last few traces of sunlight begin to vanish from the sky, I find myself alone in my room with Callia and Bryarly. Callia sits cross legged on her bed, stitching a patch to fix her trousers after her encounter earlier. Underneath the skirt of her white night dress, I can see the thick bandage wrapped around her shin, though she's too proud to mention it. She smiles happily to herself, humming a little tune as she sews. I frown; this is a little too chirpy – even for Callia. What kind of painkillers did Kina give her? I glance over to Bryarly, but she's studying Callia with the same confused expression.

"Hey Callia?" Bryarly asks.

"Yeah?" she replies.

"Err, I don't really know, but you are acting kind of weird..." she says, hesitating a little. I nod in agreement.

"How do you mean?" she asks.

"I don't know..." Bryarly mumbles, her eyes narrowed to just slits. "Just... odd."

Callia laughs nervously, not daring to make eye contact with Bryarly because she knows Bryarly will break her. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Callia," she says sharply, giving her a stern look.

"You know," Callia mumbles, "I really think that you were close to Link this time."

"Don't change the subject!"

I, irritated by Callia's ignorance, jump to my feet. "Right! I'll be going then." I never was good at these kinds of situations.

"Where?" Callia and Bryarly both ask, a bit surprised by my sudden intervention.

"Err, I'll just go see how Karane's doing. She was grabbed by the Arachnid thing after all..." I say and I close the door behind me. I just hope that they'll buy my bluff. Truth is, I hate situations like that. Why do you think I always spend my time sword training? Or flying? It because, as much as I love my friends, they irritate me sometimes. I've always felt more comfortable around boys, because they don't lie and cover up their secrets the same way that girls do. As much as I love Callia, I didn't want to sit around and listen to that.

"I-"

"Callia..."

"No, I just-"

"Callia!"

I sigh and I walk towards the bench in the hallway Karane's sitting on, combing her hair.

"So? How are you now?" I ask.

"Good. I got a lot of bruises and scratches, but nothing serious. Pipit's really concerned though..." she giggles.

"Really? Hmm... how strange..." I say, exaggerating.

Callia, Bryarly and I are the only ones that know that Karane's got a tiny secret crush on Pipit. The last few days weren't exactly the right moment to talk about it. Especially since we were all together. Karane laughs and pokes me softly. I smile at her and laugh too.

* * *

Later the day, the restaurant has gone quiet and everyone is digging into bowls of warm soup as Bryarly and Callia stand at the counter slicing a loaf of crusty bread. They are trying to whisper to each other, but I can still hear clearly what they are saying.

"You have to tell them!" Bryarly exclaims.

"Not a chance!" Callia retorts.

"I'm telling them!"

"No you're not!" Callia cut in.

"Oh yes I am," Bryarly smirks.

"You are most definitely NOT telling them!"

"Tell us what?" I shout over from the table. I raise one coy eyebrow, to make them clear I'm intrigued.

"Well-" Bryarly begins.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing!" Callia cuts her off.

Bryarly's about to open her mouth to protest, when suddenly a loud chiming noise can be heard. We all frown, glancing around, trying to find the source of the noise. Kina pauses, resting her tray on her hip as she gives me a curious glance. Only then do I realise realize that the noise is coming from my pouch. I start rummaging through my pocket, producing the gossip stone that Zurin gave me. I frown, closing it in my palm and holding the little blue stone to me lips. "Zurin?" I say.

"Good to hear from you," comes his voice. It sounds crystal clear, almost as though he were standing right next to us.

"What's up?" Pipit asks, perching himself on the edge of one of the tables.

"There's been an... event down here in the Sealed Grounds," he says. "You might want to get down here as soon as possible."

"You'll have to wait till morning," Fledge says. "It's still dark up here, there's no way that we can fly."

"So be it," Zurin sighs "I'll meet you at the back entrance of the Sealed Temple first thing tomorrow."

* * *

"What could be wrong?" Callia whispers, sitting up in her bed. Night time has fully fallen over Skyloft now, and Bryarly, Callia and I are sat in our room. Apparently, I'm not the only one who can't sleep right now.

"What if it's Link? What if there is something very wrong with him?" I ask.

"Let's just hope that's not the case," Bryarly sighs, sounding a bit grumpy.

* * *

The next morning, we get ready as soon as possible. We hop on our birds and fly towards the green column of light. It's quicker the second time that we dive down into Faron woods. I guess we're kind of getting used to all the travelling between here and the sky. It's nice to be back in the pleasant warmth of Faron woofs, though I don't have the time to admire my surroundings, as the rest of the group are in a hurry to meet up with Zurin.

"What's wrong?" Pipit asks.

Zurin sighs. "After you left, I travelled to the Sealed Grounds just as planned, with our friend Gorko tagging along. When we reached the temple, something horrible happened; my old master, the ultimate demon Demise, was temporarily released from his seal. The good news is that Link was here, and he placed a temporary seal on the demon. His power is incredible now, and I believe he aims to be even stronger,"

Everyone was relieved to hear this; I wasn't sure, but Bryarly seemed especially happy.

"After the battle and Link's departure, I decided it was necessary to meet with the woman living in the Sealed Temple. She wants to talk to you all," Zurin continues.

We nod and walk towards the door, and I'm kind of worried. Was something wrong? We open it, and inside, something looks different. In the middle is now standing a weird looking stone monument. We walk past it, and indeed, the old woman is waiting for us. But there is someone standing next to her. I frown as my eyes catch the ridiculous haircut, the flash of red…. No... It can't be!

"Groose?!" we all yelp.

"Y... not you too?" he wails.

"What are you doing here Groose?" I ask, stepping forward a little. "How did you get down here?"

"I jumped, how else bird brain?" he says, getting defensive.

Zurin frowns, seeming a little off put by Groose's reactions.

"Well why are you here?" Pipit asks.

"Zelda's gone, and Link's been zipping in and out of Skyloft! Then you guys all vanished, I didn't want to be left out! Everyone at the academy knows that I'm the strongest and best student there, we don't need head-in-the-clouds-dreamers like Link to mess everything up for Zelda so I came to help!" Groose scoffs.

"Excuse me," Zurin says, stepping forward "but I see no reason why you should be so rude to these people. They've done nothing to harm or offend you, they're merely here to try and help."

"Oh," Groose says, accusative. "and who might you be?"

Zurin stands a little taller, trying to appear more authoritative over Groose, despite the fact that he's shorter than him. "My name is Zurin, I'm a demon who's been assisting your friends here."

"Friends?" Groose spits, "They're not my friends. And, Zurin, I don't know why you're getting involved. You don't know Link or Zelda. Besides, aren't Demon's the bad guys in all the old legends?"

Zurin looks angry a bit but decides to stay calm and not say anything in reply. I never liked Groose. The way the mocked people, or just laughed at them...

"So anyway," Groose continues, "I fell- I mean jumped down here and Link said there was this old granny who lives in this temple who knew what we had to do to find Zelda and then she said Link had to save Zelda and not me!"

"Well Link is more Zelda's friend than you, Groose." I say. This just makes him more angry though.

"Will you shut up about that little wimpy kid!" Groose snaps.

No one talks about Link like that. "Hey! What's your problem with Link anyway!" Bryarly says, standing in front of Groose.

He looks a bit startled, but he quickly recovers and continues. "He thinks he's everything. He thinks that he's the only one that can save Zelda!"

The old lady comes, standing with us. "Come, come Groose. I told you that that's the prophecy."

He looks at her, and sighs dramatically. I roll my eyes, and I see Callia and Bryarly doing the same. Groose folds his arms. His large, yellow eyes scan us all, taking in our irritated expressions and annoyed nature. His big bulbous lips set forward in a childish pout as he turns away from us all, making for the exit. The temple doors slam shut behind him.

"Well, I knew I would never miss that guy," I mutter.

"He'll come back," the old lady sighs, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry," Callia says to her.

She smiles. "You don't have to apologise. Soon he will realise that even he can be a part in this all."

"Yeah, what are we supposed to do now?" Pipit asks.

She nods. "Ah, yes. I wanted to tell you that the young hero has left some time ago. He fought with a very strong monster, called the 'Imprisoned'. But because you are all Sky children, you will know him better as 'Demise',"

Callia nods. "Yes, long ago, he was the demon that tried to take the Triforce, but the Goddess Hylia sealed him away."

I wonder how she knew. But, again, I never paid much attention to school.

The old lady smiles approvingly. "You are well informed. As I said, luckily, the hero succeeded and sealed the monster away for now. It will come back later, but that's nothing to worry about for now."

"So, where is he now? Link?" Bryarly asks.

"The hero has set to the sky yesterday, but I am sure that he is back here in the woods right now. He needs to find the three ancient flames to make him stronger, and these can be found in every region he visited yet." the old lady says.

"So he's close?" I ask.

"Some time has passed, but I think he is still in this area, yes. You should look around the woods to see if you find any trace of him." the old lady answers. "Or you can spend some more time here, if you'd like."

"No, I don't think we need rest, thank you." Pipit says.

She nods. "Good luck. If you need something, you are all welcome here."

We thank her and head towards the green and lively woods.


	15. Ancient Automaton: Koloktos

**Hi guys! Franne here. Don't have much to say, other than the usual :) Thanks to my collab partners, and to CreCra, ShadowNinja1011, Hanyoualchemist1 (yes we missed you!), igottawiimote, DiamondForLife, MasterShortPantsx3 and ButterflyBabyBlue for reviewing! As always, written by me and edited by BlueFrenchHorn97. This chapter is from Bryarly's POV.**

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We're walking around the woods for about an hour looking for any trace of Link. We scour the entrance to the forest, all around the Great Tree, and the place where we met the Kikwi Elder the first time that we were here. Yet, alas, we find no trace of our friend. Slowly, I can feel the group growing more anxious, worried that we won't find our friend. I push that thought to the back of my mind. I won't let that happen.

Eventually we come to the decision that we should visit the deep woods in case Link went there. It seems the only logical place left – provided he's still in the Faron Woods. We push our way through the forest, headed towards Skyview Temple. Yet, as we reach the first white tower that marks the entrance to the deep woods, something blocks our way. A mark sits on the ground just in front of the tower that looks like a giant flower.

"What's this?" Leala asks. "This wasn't here before was it?"

"No..." Pipit mutters.

"Zurin? Do you know what this is?" Leala asks.

"Hmm... It seems that the hero has done a so called Silent Realm..." he mutters.

"A what?" Callia asks.

"A Silent Realm. It's a test for the hero to claim proof of his spiritual growth," he explains.

"Is he still doing it right now?" Karane asks.

Zurin shakes his head. "No, we would be able to see him sitting here. However, he has finished it quite recently. He shouldn't be too far away."

"But where could he be now?" I ask out loud.

Suddenly, a large shadow is cast over the group. A slight shivers sets over my spine as the sunlight is blocked. I turn slowly, expecting to see something horrifying- but I'm pleasantly surprised. Stood over us, watching us, is the Kikwi Elder.

"Hey!" Pipit greets. "Look who it is!"

"Well, well! What are you all doing here? Still searching your friends?" he asks.

"Yes!" I exclaim. "Have you seen them?"

"Not the girl, but I have seen the boy! He now has the dragon scale, which means he can stay under water for a long time. I think I saw him heading towards Lake Floria!" he says, pointing where we should go. "I hope that helps!"

"Yes, it certainly does. Thank you," Callia says.

"Good luck!" he yells and we go to search the lake.

Once he's out of earshot, Zurin speaks up. "The lake should be southeast of here. I'm... not terribly excited about going for a couple reasons. Besides the water, there are creatures there called Parella, servants of the Water Dragon, Faron, that lives in the underground river."

The mention of a Dragon makes me my stomach churn. I've never encountered one myself, having lived in Skyloft my whole life, but they're mentioned extensively in my history textbooks. They were there in the creation of Skyloft, and the Goddess entrusted each of them with a piece undisclosed knowledge. They're wise creatures, overflowing with knowledge and power. But they're quick to anger and easy to aggravate. I was really hoping we wouldn't have to face any.

"No need to worry," Zurin assures us. "The dragon is only an enemy to the Demons. As long as I stay out of sight when you meet her, nothing should go wrong."

"Ok, let's go on then," Pipit says.

* * *

A little while later, we're traversing the woods in search of the waterfall that leads to Lake Floria. Zurin is powering ahead of us, leading the way. He keeps bringing up facts and tid-bits of knowledge about Dragons and the lake, but it doesn't make our mission any less nerve-wracking. Honestly, I'm begging to worry about this Dragon… and what she may have done to Link.

"We're close now…" Zurin says, leading us up a pathway that we've travelled down before. As we reach the top, I find something unfamiliar. The last time we visited here, a white stone slab blocked access to the pathway that's now open for entrance. It's long, with archways along the side, and it's made out of a gleaming white stone.

"This wasn't open before..." Callia mutters.

"No it wasn't," Leala agrees.

We make our way along the pathway, the sound of fast running water is pounding in my ears as we go. The misted spray from the waterfall clouds around us, flaunting it's power and ferocity. As we reach the end of the pathway I glance downwards, feeling my stomach tighten at the view. Water churns far, far below us, gushing and bubbling, stirring under its own immense strength.  
"That's a steep drop..." I say.

"Guys, come on. Face it. We can't go down!" Karane says.

"Why not?" Zurin asks.

"Yeah? Why not?" Leala asks as well.

"In case you forgot, first of all, we can't breathe underwater. More importantly, we can't swim," Karane says.

"I can... a little bit..." Callia says.

"Yeah, you and Link were the only ones. We have to find another way!" Fledge says.

* * *

It's most frustrating, but we have to begin searching again. We travel back through the woods, stopping off to ask various Kikwis for advice on how to find our path forwards. After much fuss, hassle, and bickering, we finally find a small pathway hidden at the entrance of the woods. I'm surprised we didn't find it sooner, so our speed is making me concerned. We're travelling so slowly… at this rate we'll never catch up with Link.

"Where are we?" I ask, blinking as my eyes try to adjust to the bright light. I take the time to study my surroundings. A path is laid out towards a wide doorway, though it's slightly sunken beneath a few inches of water and the path crumbles away just before the entrance. Bright, luscious trees are growing all around us, and birds and bugs flourish on the small area of land.

"I believe this is part of Lake Floria..." Zurin replies. "If I'm not mistaken, an old temple of the Goddess lies beyond that door, a Cistern. However, if local sources are to be believed it's now inhabited by Ghirahims minions."

"So we should go in?" Leala asks.

"I believe it's wise that you speak to the Water Dragon first," Zurin replies. "She resides just beyond the doorway behind us."

"So be it," Karane says.

"I'll wait out here," Zurin mumbles, taking a step back. "It's best that I avoid Faron. She doesn't take kindly to Demons..."

"I think that's sensible," Pipit says. "Right, let's go!"

The six of us make our way in through the doorway Zurin pointed us to. As we make our way in, the drumming of water falling is loud in my ears. There's an undeniable damp smell that intensifies the deeper we traverse. Several fish like creatures can be seen bobbing around in the water, each a different color, with large skirts that they flap to power them through the water. They give us curious looks upon spotting us, before dashing away through the clear waters. They must be the Parella Zurin told us about.

As we make our way into a more open area, a large figure can be seen in the center of the space. Leala lets out an announcing cough as she steps forward, attracting the attention of the extraordinarily large blue dragon that stands before us. She's dressed in a dark blue gown that she has wrapped regally around her body. I'm almost amused by how small her head is in comparison to the rest of her anatomy, though her looming presence warns me not to laugh.

"WHO DARES DISTURB THE RESIDENCE OF THE MIGHTY WATER DRAGON!" she wails as she looms closer to us.

Pipit clears his throat timidly, before announcing "We've come in search of Link, though you probably know him better as the hero. We're friends of his, and wish to aid him in his quest."

"He never mentioned accomplices..." she purrs. "And if you truly are who you claim to be... then why do you carry the scent of Demon?"

"Well-" Karane stutters, but she doesn't have a chance to finish.

From outside, a large yelp of protest can be heard, accompanied by the grunts of irritable Gorons. We all frown, turning our attention to the entrance way. Three figures appear in the doorway, two of them are burly Gorons with white marks etched onto their skin, similar to the symbol on the Water Dragon's forehead. Between them, they're restraining a struggling Zurin, locking his arms behind his back. What's visible of his expression beneath his heavy cowl appears to be creased with concern.

"We found a Demon examining your temple, your highness." says the larger Goron.

She turns to us, giving a suspicious glance. "Tell me humans, if you were truly aspiring to aid the Goddess' Hero, why would you associate yourselves with a Demon?"

This was very bad, and we knew it.

"Great Faron, I deeply apologize for making myself hidden while my comrades came before you," Zurin says. "I have heard of your kindness to those who prove themselves worthy, and along with my friends here, I wish to repent of my foul doings and prove myself worthy as an ally to you and the Goddess."

If the Water Dragon is suspicious of this request, it's hidden by her surprise. "Very interesting. Few Demons or their associates have desired to leave behind their dark ways, but it is not unheard of. If you wish to prove yourselves, follow the hero into the Ancient Cistern behind me, and come back with the head of the mechanical Koloktos, an automation that has been lost to us for some time." Zurin bows and accepts the will of Faron, and although the rest of us aren't too happy about being associated with a Demon, we know that there's no other way to continue following Link.

* * *

As we make our way through the doors of the Ancient Cistern, I find myself surprised by the damp nature of the environment. It's also surprisingly warm, which explains the vast amount of flora that climbs the golden walls. The area itself looks beautiful though, with water with lily pads in it, and a giant statue in the middle that reaches to the top. Gold glimmers from almost every surface, and sunlight streams in through the top. It's truly breathtaking.

"I guess we just go in that thing... Right?" Callia says, unmoved by the environment.

"Good for me," I answer.

We jump on some lily pads that can surprisingly hold us. We open the door located at the bottom of the statue, and inside there is a large stream of water going up.

"Won't we drown or something?" Karane asks.  
"I guess we'll have to find out..." Leala mutters. She jumps in and goes up with the stream. We all follow and are all soaking once we're up. We find another stream of water, and another one... We finally reach a floor with a giant flower and a set of stairs. We head upwards, up countless steps, climbing and escalating higher and higher through the temple. I can't help wondering how much further we can keep going…

Eventually, we find ourselves at the very top. We push through a doorway into circular room. It's massive in scope, and the décor is a dark purplish-red color. The floor itself is littered with rubble from collapsed towers, and various pieces of golden mechanics. Limbs, body pieces, and massive golden weapons lie strewn around the room. From the state of the place, it looks like whatever happened in here was big.

"Aha. There is the head Faron wanted," Zurin mutters. He stoops down to collect a hollow golden head. The smile fixed on its features is enough to send a shiver down my spine. However, instead of putting the item into his pouch, Zurin stares at it with fixated interest.

"I know it's creepy but you don't have to stare!" Pipit jokes.

"It's not that…" Zurin mumbles, wiping his thumb across cheek of the lifeless face. "It's… blood…"

"What?" Leala asks as the uneasy silence sets over the group.

Just at that moment I feel my heart plummet right into my stomach. I hadn't noticed it up until now… the color scheme threw my focus. How could I possibly have missed the splashes of blood over the floor?

"LINK!" I yelp, my tongue acting before my brain can even begin to process what's happening. It's only as my voice echoes in the empty space that I realise how desperate I sound...

"Hold on..." Fledge mumbles, staring down at the floor. Everyone turns to follow his gaze. And sure enough, the clue is right in front of us. A trail of blood has been left on the ground, lighter towards the centre of the room. But drops turn to dribbles, and dribbles to pools as it nears the door on the far side of room. No one dares to say a word, so I take a step forward.

As I push open the heavy golden door, I see exactly what I had feared. There, in the light of a green flame, Link lies. The tunic that covers his chest is almost entirely red, and the blood pools around him. His shadow shrinks and grows in the flickering flame that illuminates his paled skin. Limp limbs are sprawled, lame around his curled figure. His fringe is plastered to his forehead with sweat and blood. Images flash through my head, of my wounded friend stumbling, staggering through the doorway. He must have thought he could make it… that is, until he collapsed on the ground.

I run towards him and fall to my knees beside him. I can't describe how I'm feeling. Sad, furious, upset... A mixture of heavy feelings I have never experienced before. Sobs jolt through my body as I hear myself yelling and freaking out. It's out of my control, I feel like my mind isn't connected the rest of me. My mouth runs of its own accord, sobbing pleads and prayers. Yet my mind revolved around one thought – don't let him be dead.

"Oh my goddess! No! No! Link! No no no please! This can't be happening! Link!" I cry as I gently cup his cheek.

Callia, not daring to utter a word, kneels down next to me and reaches out. Her nimble fingers take his limp wrist, checking for a pulse. She breathes a sigh of relief. "He's still alive."

"But … the wound..." Leala says, kneeling down too. "Goddess..." she has a hard time holding back tears.

Even as we speak, the blood stain is still growing. I can't help but worry about the amount of blood that he's losing, the state that he's in. I'm still sobbing, and muttering words to him.

"What do we do?" Karane mutters.

"Let's take him outside of this dungeon," Pipit suggests.

Callia softly pulls me back from Link. "Come on..."

"No..." I cry softly.

"Please Bryarly..." she says.

I surrender, stand up and lay my head on her shoulder. She lays an arm around me as I softly sob while she tries to sooth me. I feel cut off from everything else, like I'm just watching these events happen. It hasn't sunk in yet – this doesn't feel real.

"Is he going to be ok?" Leala asks.

"He'll be ok..." Callia replies but she doesn't sound sure.

"Let's get him outside before we run into any more monsters." Zurin says.

Pipit kneels down beside his best friend, scooping him up into his strong arms. The blood from Link's tunic moves to Pipit's as he settles into a comfortable carrying position. The heavy, rasping breaths that escape Link are the only sign that he's alive… but it doesn't sound good.

No one dares to say anything as we make our way back towards the exit of the temple. In all honestly, I don't think anyone knows what to say. Leala and Karane walk at the front of the group, with Pipit and Fledge just behind, Pipit still carrying Link. Callia and I walk at the very back of the group, and she's got one arm wrapped around me for support. She knows I'm taking this worse than anyone.

Much to our dismay, Faron, the Water Dragon is waiting for us just outside. Her expression shows shock as she sees us carrying the hopeless looking hero.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!" she yells almost instantaneously.

I honestly don't care that she's mad. The only thing I care about right now is Link.

"The Hero is vital to ensure the safety of our lands and the creatures of the Goddess, creatures that you have sworn to stand by. And yet you do this?" she hisses.

"This isn't how it looks!" Leala insists, stepping forward. Her hands are trembling as she faces the might of the Faron, who's currently fuming.

"I offered you an opportunity to prove yourselves, yet instead of seizing it, you decide to anger the only authoritative figure over Faron woods," the mighty Dragon spits. Already, her proportionally tiny hands are setting to work, summoning the power of the water. Hums and groans pass from her throat as she forms a large wall of water. The immense force gushes upwards, leaving us to only watch in silence, our breath catching in our throats. "Deny my land its rightful hero will you?" she hisses, her voice taking a much deeper, more hostile tone. "Not if I have anything to do with it."

The wall of water reaches its full ferocity as she lets out a frustrated yell. She thrusts her hands forwards, sending the water towards us in a vicious tidal wave. My heart begins to pound in my chest. Something that powerful could knock us clean out, and I hate to think what it would do to Link in his current state. I take a step forward, taking Link's cold, limp hand and holding my breath.

Yet, within a matter of moments, everything changes. A flash of red and white races past me, orange and gold flickering at his fingertips. A maroon cowl is blown back off of Zurin's face as he launches jets of fire into the seemingly endless roll of water. Loud hissing and fizzling echoes through the air as the water evaporates into moist steam. It curls and crawls into the open air, eventually disappearing into the open air.

"Would you just let us explain!" he exclaims as our view finally clears. "If we had injured Link ourselves, do you honestly think we would bring his body before you like this!?" he says, his snarl visible on his uncovered face. He throws the head of Koloktos on the ground before the water dragon, allowing it to bounce with a hollow clang on the stone.

"Enough!" The dragon bellows in reply. "Your actions may have saved the hero despite what I first believed, but your insolence nearly overshadows your bravery. I will give you my blessing and you may leave with your lives, but woe to you if we should EVER meet again!" With that, Faron flings a handful of what appears to be her own scales at the group, which Zurin quickly collects before teleporting us and Link.

Materializing at the end of a grassy path between the cistern entrance and the woods, Zurin crouches over Link and begins making a healing potion. I sit next to him and stare ahead of me. My body feels numb and my eyes are already swollen from all the crying. I feel a bit embarrassed.

"What is that thing's deal anyway!?" Callia says, fuming.

"Dragons are like all creatures with too much power; they are quick to make reality whatever they want it to be." Zurin hisses. "Faron means well of course, but she is proud, and pride can make one rash like it did to my old master..." As he spoke the solution was completed and applied to Link. "This will save the hero's life, but he needs a proper potion vendor and some sleep."

The still unconscious Link lets out a low moan of pain as the potion sets to work healing the wound on his chest. His dirty blond hair is still plastered to his forehead with sweat, his tunic still stained with blood, and in all the time I've known him, I've never seen him look this bad. My stomach tightens as I watch Pipit scoop Link up into his arms, and we all make our way over to the nearest statue.

"We'll take him back to Skyloft," Leala says. "It's our only choice."

"Take care of him," Zurin says. "If what the Water Dragon said is true, he needs to be in full health before returning to the surface. You have to make sure of that."

"We promise," Karane says, giving him a swift nod.

I feel a sense of guilt settling over me as I watch Zurin. I never should have been so quick to judge him. Everything he did back there with the Water Dragon proves that he's a powerful ally to have at our disposal. I'm beginning to regret my earlier bitterness.

"Let me know where to meet you next, ok?" Zurin says, nodding towards the gossip stone around Leala's neck.

* * *

The wind ruffles my clothes and whips at my hair as I dive from my Loftwing onto the roof of the academy. There's a small gust as Pipit lands his bird on the roof, allowing him to clamber off safely with Link still in his arms. One by one, the others drop around us. None of us could ignore the stares we received as we flew over our little island. There's no doubt about it: we're in big trouble. Fledge opens the doors of the academy, allowing us entry. Karane, Leala and Callia stroll ahead, whilst the others walk just behind us. Just moments after we enter, Instructor Horwell rushes out to greet us, presumably having heard our footsteps.

"Where in the name of the goddess have you been?" he exclaims.

I suddenly feel extremely nauseous and just want everything to be ok.

"We can explain..." Karane begins, but her voice trails away into silence as a large shadow is cast over all of us. Gaepora stands in the doorway of his office, watching us all with an expression that I can't quite read. It's somewhere between relief, annoyance, anger, and disappointment. Yet he doesn't say a word, it's almost worse that way.

The silence is eventually broken by Link, who lets out a low groan of pain. I turn as Gaepora's focus shifts next to me, where Pipit carries Link. His expression changes to one of concern and worry as his newest senior student raises one hand to his forehead, voice cracking as he groans again.

"W... we found Link..." Pipit whispers.


	16. Link's Awakening

**Hi guys! Franne here. So, last chapter was a bit intense huh? Poor Link. Anyways, thanks to my collab partners, and to ShadowNinja1011, ButterflyBabyBlue, CreCra, MasterShortPantsx3, winter goddess yuki onna, NightFlowerLuv, elwayguy7, igottawiimote and DarkTayl for reviewing! As always, this was written by me and edited by BlueFrenchHorn97. This chapter is from Callia's POV.**

* * *

We all sit together in Link's room. Bryarly's sitting in the chair next to his bed. Her long, brown hair is tangled, and dark bags lie under her puffy blue eyes. She stopped sobbing a while ago but her reaction betrayed herself. She has a crush on Link, and a pretty strong one too. I can't help but wonder why she never told me. I thought I was her best friend! Though the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach makes me wonder if she doesn't trust me enough… whatever the case, her emotional state is too fragile right now to ask her about it.

We all kind of keep guard, during the night. Two persons would always stay awake. Professor Owlan has given Link all the help he could and Luv made strong healing potions. Everyone is helping, and yet no one has asked how we found him. No one dares to. Well, the headmaster has tried, but we are all still too shocked to answer.

I honestly thought he was going to die. Everyone did, I think. I glance around the room. Pipit sits against Link's bookshelf, with Karane sleeping, her head on his lap. Leala lies on the floor, sleeping as well. Fledge is sleeping next to me, and I'm holding his arm tightly. Yes, it's official, well… kind of. Me and Fledge are well, together. But due to all the commotion we never told anyone except for Bryarly. She is sitting on the chair next to me and Link's bed. She stares back at me; her large, blue eyes are filled with guilt, but she quickly looks away.

"Don't do that," I whisper.

"What?" she asks, her voice sounding hoarse.

I stand up and sit next to her on the floor and gesture her to do the same. She does so and I lay an arm around her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.

"Because I couldn't," she replies weakly.

"But I'm your friend right? And Leala?" I say.

"That's right," Leala, who apparently was awake, whispers. She also comes to sit next to us.

"What gave it away?" she asks.

Leala takes one of her hands, giving it a comforting squeeze. "A friend can keep their head in a crisis; someone who's in love usually can't..."

"Why couldn't you just be honest with us?" I ask, hugging her a little tighter. "I told you about Fledge after all."

"Fledge!" Leala hisses. "You didn't tell me about Fledge!"

"Oh..." I mumble, feeling myself blush. "Yeah... but look, this isn't the time."

"I feel like such an idiot," Bryarly whispers, leaning her head back and letting her long brown hair fall backwards. Her eyes are screwed shut tight as she drags a sleeve across her cheek to wipe away the tears.

"Don't beat yourself up about it..." I soothe.

"How could I not?" she sobs. "Everyone knows his heart belongs to Zelda."

"Hey..." Leala whispers. "It's Link! I'm pretty sure every girl in Skyloft has crushed on him at some point! I had a crush on him last summer!"

"When I was thirteen," I smile. "And I'm pretty sure Karane did a couple of years ago!"

"Exactly," Leala says, giving Bryarly a comforting smile.

"But I promise you," I whisper. "No matter what, you'll be ok, I swear."

"Maybe..." she sighs. "But I'm not so sure about Link..."

I look up to where he lies in his bed. His breath is coming out in ragged gasps as tosses and turns in his sleep. The large wound on his bare chest is visible as Henya has taken his tunic away to mend. I feel my heart sinking a little.

"He'll be fine," I promise. "You know Link, he's strong."

Bryarly sighs. "I hope so."

"Ok, now, go to bed," I command her.

"Will you wake me the second he wakes up?" Bryarly asks.

I nod. "Of course."

She smiles and hugs us. She then lies down between Link's bed and me and very quickly, she falls asleep.

* * *

Sunlight is just creeping in through the little window of Link's room when Bryarly's stirring wakes me up. It can't be later than 7 a.m... I try my best to ignore Bryarly and try to sleep further. I hear Leala snoring softly and I feel Fledge playing with a lock of my hair. It feels nice. Fledge is still a bit shy in our relationship, but he shows cute small signs of affection which is one of the things I adore about him.

I sleep for another hour until I wake up and I smile at Fledge first before looking at Bryarly. Fledge says that he wants to see where everyone is, so he heads out to look for them. The room is practically empty apart from Bryarly, Link and I.

"Hey. How are you?" I ask.

Bryarly shrugs. "I had horrible nightmares..."

"I'm sorry..." I say, before hugging her.

"When will he wake up?" she asks, her voice sounding like a child.

"I don't know," I reply.

We sit for a few minutes, quietly chatting between us. We talk about the surface, the water dragon, the trouble we're all going to be in. She talks like nothing's wrong, though I can see the dullness in her eyes that tell me she's still hurt by recent events. I feel utterly useless. I've no idea what to say or do.

Suddenly, a loud, moist cough sounds out from just to our right. Link sits bolt upright, his chest heaving as he struggles to grasp what little air he can. His body jars, spine coiling as he fights to take in some semblance of oxygen. His eyes are screwed shut, face contorted into a cruel pained expression. His hands clench tight against the corners of his flimsy mattress, turning his knuckles white as skin is pulled taught. Bryarly watches him in silence, mouth wide open, almost like a statue. She's in shock. Blood begins to drum in my brain as my mind races.

"Link! Lie still!" I shout, though my commands fall on deaf ears. He continues to writhe, trying to force his crumpled body to inhale. I press my lips together in determination as I jump to my feet and step closer to him. I grab his bare shoulders, forcing him to lie back on the mattress, though his strength is proving a challenge. He kicks uncontrollably, tangling himself in his duvet, face paling due to the lack of oxygen.

"Bryarly help me!" I yelp. "He needs to lie flat and calm down!"

She, still in a state of shock, doesn't move a muscle. Behind me, the bedroom door is thrown open, and Pipit appears on the other side wearing a panicked expression.

"Link?" he exclaims.

"Take his ankles!" I yell. "He needs to lie still!"

Pipit runs forward obediently, seizing his friend by the ankles and restraining them against the mattress. Link continues to fight, blinded by pain for a good thirty seconds, before eventually his breathing levels out, and colour begins to return to his face. Pipit stares, still concerned, at his friend. From beside me, Bryarly lets out a quiet whimper. Slowly, steadily, Link begins to blink, trying to focus his view as he struggles to understand what's happened.

"Wh... where's Zelda?" he croaks.

Bryarly just stares at him, mouth wide open.

"Just- just lay still Link, please," I plead. I push him down again, and watch as his eyes flutter shut. He's fainted from exhaustion... I sigh and quickly turn to Bryarly. I take her hands and stare at her.

"Just inhale and exhale slowly," I say and she does so a few times. "Better?" I ask and she nods.

"I'm sorry," she apologies.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because I was so worthless!" she yells out.

"You had a normal reaction," Pipit says, trying to calm her down.

"I just- what could I do? I mean, he was just-" she stutters.

"You panicked, that's all!" I say.

"Let's just hope he doesn't do that again the next time he wakes up," Pipit mutters.

* * *

Later that day, we're all sat quietly in Link's room going over the story of the Goddess and the first hero, when the door is swiftly opened and Gaepora strolls in. He stares down at us all, his brow furrowed in annoyance. His large arms are crossed over his chest, and he's accompanied by Owlan, Horwell, and Henya.

"What did you think you were doing?" he asks in an alarmingly calm tone.

"We were just trying to help Link," Pipit replies, standing up. "And think about it! If we hadn't been down there, Link could have died!"

"And what if that had happened to any of you?" Gaepora replies.

"But it didn't," Karane argues.

"But it could have!" Horwell cuts in. "You're lucky that you haven't been expelled from the academy. We specifically told you to stay away from the gaps in the cloud barrier, and you broke our rules!"

"But we did it for Li-" Leala begins, but she's quickly silenced as Gaepora raises his hand.

"I won't have my students endangering their lives like this, and I won't stand for disobedience in my school. None of you are to leave this school unless accompanied by a fully trained knight. End of discussion," Gaepora says in his low, steady voice.

"What!?" I exclaim, jumping to my feet.

"End of discussion!" Gaepora repeats, before turning and walking from the room. The other members of staff follow him out, leaving us in silence.

Bryarly starts to cry softly. I can see Karane crying too, and I'm having a hard time not to. We know what we did, we ruined everything.

"What can we do?" Leala sighs desperately.

"I don't know. We are screwed," Pipit says.

I gasp. "She is still on the surface. Alone." I stop a second to look at my friends. "Zelda."

By the sound of her name, Link slowly begins to stir again. His breathing has improved a little from this morning, but it still sounds awful. Even as I watch him now, dressed once again in his white and blue shirt and green trousers... it's a horrifying site, His chest rises as falls, but shudders in a most frightening way as it does so. His skin is still pale, beads of sweat forming along his forehead. I don't know how long we have until he wakes up properly...

"Link?" Fledge asks.

But he just falls limp and still again. I sigh; he is in a very bad condition.

* * *

We wait, day after day, night after night for Link to wake up. People from all over Skyloft come to bring him potions and medicinal foods. Luv works like a slave to try and perfect her extra strength healing potion in the hopes that it'll help him. And we, the group that set out to help Link... can do nothing to help him. So instead, we just wait by his bedside. Hoping and praying that for something to change in him... and after four days of waiting, it does.

Slowly, the colour begins to return to his face. He still wakes momentarily, but he no longer has the horrible coughing fits that he used to. Each night Henya comes in to change the bandages on his wound, and each time it looks like it's getting a little better. I know that it will never go away – he'll probably be scarred for life – but it's beginning to look less and less like fresh wound.

On the sixth day, we all find ourselves sat in a circle on the floor of Link's bedroom. He's still asleep in his bed, but his breath is no longer such a desperate rasp. As for the rest of us, we're amusing ourselves with an old Hylian card game. It's only as Pipit lays down the ace of clubs that I hear a low groan coming from behind me.

In a flash, I drop my hand and turn to face Link. He's stirring on his bed, slowly lifting one hand and pressing it to his forehead. His eyes, still sporting the heavy grey bags, blink a few times before finally opening fully. I'm almost surprised by what a bright and lively blue they are considering how he's been almost comatose for nearly a week. He glances around at us all from where he lies with a look of pure confusion.

"Is anyone going to explain what's going on?" he croaks, slowly sitting up in his bed. He stares around at us all, taking in the card games and each of us that are watching him. He blinks slowly, his blue eyes squinting as he tries to make sense of the situation. "How did I get here?" he says.

"We found you..." Pipit mumbles, "down on the surface. You were in a bad way, so we brought you back."

"You were on the surface? Wait... What about Zelda?" he asks, quickly straightening himself up. He blinks rapidly, drawing himself into a more attentive state. "Tell me you saw Zelda..."

I glance down at my feet, unsure of what to say. Link's desperate glance switches from person to person as he silently pleads for someone to reply. Eventually, I whisper "Sorry..."

His face drops immediately, and he staggers to his feet with a painful grunt. He makes his way over to his wardrobe, flinging the doors open and searching through his clothes."Where's my tunic?" he gushes.

"Link, stop!" Karane intervenes. "You can't possibly be thinking about going back yet! You'll never make it on your own down there, not in your state!"

"Then come with me," he says, striding over to his desk chair where his tunic and chainmail lie folded.

"Are you out of your mind?" I exclaim.

"No!" he exclaims. "I need to get back to the Isle of Songs, I need to find the next sacred flame so that I can-" he stops abruptly, searching the room. "Where's Fi?"

"Fi?" Fledge queries.

"My sword! Where's my sword?"

"Here..." Pipit mumbles, picking up the sword from where it lies under the bed. "You named your sword?" he asks as he hands it to his friend, still looking a little concerned. "Never mind... listen, Link... we're worried about you. Can't you wait just a few more days?"

"I don't have a few days to wait," he sighs. "I've wasted enough time as it is. At first light I'm going back to the Isle of Songs and then to the surface... are you with me or not?"

I sigh. "Link you really should stay here-"

He turns, giving me a serious look, but I just cross my arms in response, determined not to give in. He lets out an irritable grunt, turning away from me and scanning the room for someone who might back him up. After a few moments, he turns to the one person who won't refuse what he asks.

"Bryarly?" he pleads. This is just cruel. How is she supposed to decide?

I try to come between them because I know her weakness. "Link, listen!"

He ignores me and just stares at Bryarly. He takes a step closer and reaches out for her hands. I can see her cheeks become red.

"Bryarly... please, help me out here," he begs.

I cross my arms, giving Link my worst glare. Don't get me wrong, he's my friend, but he's naive to high hell and doesn't even realise what he's doing. Even from here I can see Bryarly beginning to crumble.

"Link!" I yelp. "You know I don't like getting angry, but damnit, you've left me no choice! You could have DIED Link! You can't just stroll out of here pretending like none of this ever happened! You need to heal before you return."

He doesn't turn, doesn't even look at me.

Bryarly lets out a low sigh. "I guess as long as you're not alone... you could go..." she mumbles, her voice barely audible.

"What?!" I yell.

"Bryarly, that's crazy!" Pipit cuts in.

Link grins, giving her a hug. I notice the sudden pained expression on his face as she comes into contact with his damaged chest, but he hurriedly tries to mask it. "I knew I could count on you, Bryarly!" he grins.

He begins packing potions and empty bottles into his adventure pouch. He places his sword in his scabbard, and pulls it on its leather strap over his shoulder. He's beaming like a child, but the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach tells me that this isn't going to end well as he races towards the door.

"Well come on then!" he calls out as he pulls the door open. He pauses momentarily, turning to look at Pipit. "And I didn't name my sword," he says.

Pipit frowns. "Then why did you call it Fi?"

Link grins. "You'll find out soon enough."


	17. Faron Woods Silent Realm

**Hi guys! How's it going? Franne here. Apologies for the delay, but over the last month or so we've all been busy on holiday, trips, and PrincesscharmingKnight was even lucky enough to have been at some cons! Unfortunately, it meant a delay in posting the chapter, but we're here now! :) Thanks to ShadowNinja1011, MasterShortPantsx3, BoxAuthor88, CreCra, teithant, NightFlowerLuv, DarkTayl, ButterflyBabyBlue, ElwayGuy7, and Hanyoualchemist1 for reviewing! As always, this was written by me, and edited by BlueFrenchHorn97! This chapter is from Leala's POV.**

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I'm happy that Link can come with us, though I still can't help but worry about him. What if his injury gets worse when we're down on the surface? What if he can't get back? As a group, we make our way down the front steps of the Knight Academy towards the lower level of Skyloft. Link is walking just ahead of the group, and despite his injury, he seems extremely determined. He comes to a gradual halt, turning to face us, but glancing up at the hilt of his sword. The smallest hint of a smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

"Fi!" Link calls out, touching the very tip of his sword hilt. At that moment, a strange white-blue light bursts from his sword, accompanied by a strange noise that I've never heard before. Almost instantaneously a blue figure leaps from the sword, spinning in the air a few times before falling still. I know it's rude, but I can't help but stare with an open mouth at the figure. Her skin is a soft, sky blue though it looks almost waxy, and matches her hair perfectly. She doesn't stand on the floor, but floats just a few inches above ground level. Instead of arms, she sports two long fluttered limbs, and I'm uncertain as to whether or not they're wings.

"What in hell?" I yelp.

"Who is that?" Pipit exclaims.

"Well this is Fi. She is a sword spirit and she's helping me through this all. She's really useful!" Link explains, as if it weren't somewhat supernatural.

"A… a sword spirit?" I stutter.

"Hi Fi!" Karane says, apparently undeterred by this surprising encounter.

Fi doesn't reply, she just stares, utterly emotionless.

"Err, she is a bit... odd..." Link admits, giving Fi a small smile.

I look around the group to take in their reactions. Bryarly is constantly nervously biting her lip. Callia, on the other hand, is clearly annoyed, which is rare, because she's always been known as the quiet one with her nose always in a book. She never gets angry or yells at people. Getting annoyed quickly is kind of my thing. It's clear this is going between Callia and Bryarly, but it seems I'm the only one to notice that. Maybe it's because Bryarly formerly never told us she has a crush on Link? I don't know, Callia is her best friend. I mostly hang out with the guys. But Callia and Bryarly were together since birth, they grew up together. It's weird. And if looks could kill, both Bryarly and Link would have been dead. I first thought it was only between her and Bryarly, but the looks she's giving Link a hard time too… I don't know what he has done, and I don't think it's smart to ask Callia, because I only ever make arguments worse.

"So where to, Eldin?" Pipit asks.

"No," Link replies, squinting as he glances across the skies. "We've got to go to the Isle of Songs."

"Isle of songs?" I ask.

"It's inside the thunderhead..." Link replies.

"Cool! A new place!" I say, running towards the platform where we jump off.

"Wait Leala, there are monsters in there that sometimes attack your Loftwing so you need to try and avoid them." Link says.

"Ok. Let's go!" I yell.

"Wait what about the headmaster?" Fledge says.

"Just go!" I repeat. I know it's kind of a bad move, but I'm too hyped on adventure adrenaline to worry about my teachers. We jump and call our Loftwings, and just as I land on the back of my bird, I hear a shout from Skyloft.

"What are you doing? Get back here!" Professor Owlan yells, but we're far enough away that we know he won't bother to follow us. What would be the point? He'd never catch up to us. Though I can't ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me that running away for a second time is a very, _very_ bad idea. I push the thought to the back of my mind and press on, catching up to Link on his Crimson Loftwing.

We fly our birds towards a part of the sky where the clouds form a large round dome. It was closed off previously, but now, it somehow opened with a bright beam of light. I'm willing to bet Link has something to do with that. We fly through a small hole in the cloud barrier, and we reach a dark looking area. There are weird birds flying around, and like Link said, they are trying to attack us. They aren't that hard to dodge, luckily. Link is taking the lead and we just follow. Suddenly, he jumps off, and we do too. We have arrived at a weird group of floating islands.

"What is this place? It looks so... old..." Karane mutters.

I hang back a little as Link runs off towards the large tower over a bridge. Truth is, I'm curious about our location, I retrieve the gossip stone from my satchel and call to Zurin. After catching him up on the situation, I explain him our current location and ask him if he is familiar with the strange place.

"I've never heard of any islands in the sky other than Skyloft, to be honest. You did mention something about flying into a thunderhead though, and that rings a bell. It is said a sky spirit from the dawn of creation lives within a thunderhead high above the surface; I believe this is his domain you are in. The dark clouds and strange creatures you mentioned are an ill omen though, and personally I suspect the spirit is less benevolent than he once was," he says. "On an unrelated note," Zurin continues, "I think it would be best if you did not mention my existence to Link. We will have to meet someday, but I do not think that time is now."

Link, already ahead of us and running towards the structure, doesn't hear.

"What?" Pipit exclaims, grabbing the stone. "Zurin, that's crazy! How are we supposed to get anywhere without your help?"

"I don't know," comes the soft voice from the other side of the stone. "But I think it's for the best. We'll talk again soon, ok?"

"Hey!" Link calls, from the tiny entrance to the stone structure. "What's taking you so long?"

I look thoughtfully at the stone for a few moments, but then set my lip firm, shoving it into my pocket. "Nothing," I call back.

We all take to our feet, jogging over towards the entrance of the structure. It's tiny, only big enough to fit one of us at a time, and we have to crawl to get through. I sigh, getting down on my hands and knees and following in behind Karane. After much fuss and hassle, we all find ourselves on the inside of what appears to be a large circular tower.

"Where is this place?" Bryarly asks.

"It's the Isle of Songs," Link replies. "Whenever I'm here, Fi teaches me a new song. They help me to unlock Silent Realms, which give me items that I need."

"Silent Realms?" Fledge queries.

Link closes his eyes, momentarily shaking his head. "You don't want to know..."

Suddenly a statue of the goddess that looks like the one from Skyloft rises up from nowhere and starts to sing. Fi appears and tells Link a message from the Goddess and does a beautiful dance. She leaves behind a light and dances up the walls. Then Link plays a harp that looks like the one Zelda had the day she went missing.

Once Fi has concluded her performance, and has translated a message for Link, he puts his beautiful harp back into his bag and turns to us. "We're headed to Lanayru!"

"Lanayru? Really?" Callia sighs. "I hate it there. My leg is still a little sore after our last visit there."

"Don't worry," Link says. "We just need to complete the Silent Realm and find the next sacred flame, then we'll be out of there."

"Yeah..." Pipit mumbles under his breath. "Because that's going to be so easy..."

"We keep hearing about these Silent Realms," I cut in, ignoring Pipit. "But we're not entirely clear on what they are yet. Care to explain?"

Link sighs, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand as he shifts uncomfortably. "They're pretty bad..." he muses. "They look just like the different areas of the surface - like the one I just did in Faron woods looked exactly the same. But they're only accessible by your spirit, so your physical body can't enter."

"What do you do there?" Karane asks.

"You have to collect all these tears... it sounds simple, but if you don't collect them fast enough the guardians come after you. If a guardian so much as touches you... you're done."

"It still doesn't sound so bad," Pipit shrugs.

Link just scoffs. "Just you wait."

"Well... let's not wait." Karane says, looking around eagerly. "Let's go!"

As we touch down in the familiar sandy planes of Lanayru, we're greeted by the sword spirit Fi.

"We have arrived at Lanayru Desert. You can use your dowsing ability to locate the entrance to the trial you must pass to open the way to the sacred flame." She goes back and we continue.

I don't know what she meant by dowsing, but Link points his sword in various directions, and in accordance to how it flashes and the noise it makes… we find the way.

Eventually, we manage to track the trail entrance to a path of dry ground in Lanayru near to the mining facility. It doesn't appear to be particularly special, but Link produces his harp and strums a few chords, which summons a bright blue mark on the ground. I study the mark in awe for a moment as Fi appears by Link's side. The two of them begin to duet, Fi joining her slightly robotic – but melodious – voice to Link's harp playing. As they perform, petals begin unfolding from the centre of the mark, creating a beautiful glowing flower pattern. Once the song is complete, Fi vanishes and Link pulls his sword from its scabbard.

"What now?" Callia asks.

"Now I'll thrust my sword into the ground and then my spirit will be transported to the Silent Realm," Link explains.

"How will we go? Will we all go? What if something happens to our bodies?" Pipit asks.

"I never thought about that..." Link admits.

"I'll stay here," Bryarly mutters.

"Are you sure?" Karane asks, stepping closer to Bryarly.

"She's made her choice," Callia says. "It's not like we can all go anyway..."

It sounds like Callia's not particularly keen on having Bryarly there with us, which is, again, nothing like her. What in the name of Hylia is going on?

"No, that's not a wise move..." Fledge mumbles. "You're a really fast runner. If you have to get tears quickly, you should go. I'll stay!"

"Really?" Callia asks.

"Thanks Fledge," Link says, patting him on the arm. He then reaches over his shoulder and draws his sword from his scabbard. "Come on everyone," he says "grab a hold of the sword."

We all reach out, it's a tight fit but we all manage to seize part of its handle. We raise it high, and there's a brief pause, before we charge it back into the ground and everything fades into whiteness.

When colour returns, everything looks eerie and strange. The world is tainted with a faint blue-white glow. It should be calming, but it sends a chill right through me. As I look around at my friends, each of them is glowing strangely. Like Link said, we must just be spirits. I look around, taking in the fearsome guardians that stand, waiting, and the small orbs of light that litter the ground.

"Let's go," Pipit says, stepping forward confidently.

"Wow wow... wait!" Link cuts in his path. "Be careful! As soon as you step outside the circle the guardians awaken! Ok... just remember, find the light fruit, as they'll tell us where all the tears are. I'll make a dash for the first one, but if you stay in the circle you'll be safe. Once I've got the tear, then follow me. But whatever you do, don't step in the waking water!"

We all nod, everyone looking a little nervous now because of Link's serious tone of voice. He takes a deep breath, eyes closed, as if he's preparing for something. Then, slowly, he sets one foot outside of the protective barriers. There's a loud sinking feeling in my stomach as the sky suddenly burns a bloody red colour. All around us, the mechanical guardians open their eyes which glow red like warning lights. We huddle together, terrified as Link makes a dash for the closest tear, a guardian hot on his tail.

Just in time, he grabs the tear, and the guardian reappears in its former waiting position.

"Pair up and split up" he calls to us. I grab Callia's hand, and Pipit and Karane jump for each other.

"We'll go left, you two head right," Pipit says to us.

"Come on Bryarly," Link calls, offering her a shaky smile. I can tell he's nervous, but he puts on a brave face. "We'll go straight ahead. Good luck everyone! And remember, DON'T go near waking water!"

We all nod and Callia and I run as fast as we can to the closest teardrop.

We run across some quick sand and onto one of the slopes. Suddenly I spot a bight spotlight hovering above me. As I step under it a bell rings and the sky goes red again. I don't know what I did wrong with that, but the guardians awaken and my heart is pounding. We quickly run to the tear drop like Link did and freeze the guardians just in time.

"That's one." I say, "I wonder how the others are doing?"

We look around and see that Bryarly and Link went clockwise up raised stone platform

"Link!" Callia calls out, her voice echoing dangerously in this strange realms. "How many tears do we have left?"

"I don't know. A number around 10 I think..." he says, looking at the blue beacons.

Callia and I make our way along one of the raised platforms. Guardians carrying lanterns are floating back and forth along the pathway, but there are tears in between them so we have to find a way through. I cast my gaze around, searching for the others. I can see Link and Bryarly on top of the mining facility, and Karane and Pipit are down below picking a safe path across the sink sand.

"Come on!" I exclaim as one of the guardians turns to walk in the other direction. We quickly run up and step aside into a little piece of platform that extends out to the right. We wait while the guardian patrols past, and then dash and collect a tear. I begin to wonder how many we've collected in total and how many are still left to find.

Callia and I quickly dash forward while a gap is present and duck into another extended platform. A guardian is stood on this piece of platform. He's halted, eyes closed. He just stands, holding his double axe menacingly, his gold and white armour gleaming in the strange light. It makes my stomach churn to even look at him.

"Don't think about it," Callia insists, dashing forward and grabbing the other tear from this platform. We both quickly leap off the edge just as the floating guardian comes up behind us.

Just then, someone must have collected a light fruit, as fresh beams of light spring up all over the land. I grin as I spot one sitting on top of the iron cages beside the mining facility. We run all along the side of the mining facility, push a mine cart into place and climb up to collect the tear. I glance around us again. How much longer do we have to stay in this creepy place?

I glance around me, trying to check on how the others are doing. Callia follows my gaze and gasps. Pipit and Karane are ducking and diving as they try to squeeze their way between a sea of floating guardians, all of whom chase them for a little while. Their objective is a tear on the far side.

"Be careful!" Bryarly yells from where she stands with Link on a raised platform. "They're following you!"

Karane spins around, having not heard Bryarly properly. Just at that moment, a floating guardian jumps after them, the loud bell rings out, and the skies stain red as blood once again.

"NO! RUN!" Bryarly yells as loud as she can.

They're running as fast as they can to a tree that's way too far away. Now the guardians are not only after them, but us too. I need to think quickly. I quickly scan the area for tears in my range until I see one, just a drop ahead. I jump down and dash forward. The guardian raises his axe at Karane as I grab it and it freezes. Karane falls down to her knees and Pipit tries to calm her down. They grab the tear up the tree and I see Callia getting close to another one in case they can't get through the sea of the lantern guards. There are not many tears left, and we all split up again. Bryarly and Link grab the remaining few on the mining facility.

We search for a good while, but none of seem to be able to find the last tear. I can feel time slowly trickling away as the panic begins to rise between us. If we don't get that tear fast enough… the guardians are going to come after us… An odd, warped chiming noise begins to ring through the air as the red starts dribbling over the clouds. The guardians aren't yet awake, but time is fast running out. I can hear the blood drumming in my ears as my search begins more desperate… where the hell is that tear?

And that's when the guardians open their eyes.

"There's one left!" Link pants as him and Bryarly begin to leap down the edges of the mining facility, a floating guardian fast in their pursuit.

"Where?" Callia yelps, stumbling on a piece of rock. She quickly pushes herself up and keeps on running.

"I got it!" Pipit yells. I want to turn and see where he is, watch if he can make it... but the thundering footsteps of guardian wielding a double axe right behind me warn me not to hesitate. I let out a loud yelp as I drop behind Callia, falling flat onto my face. The gleam in guardians eyes glow brighter as it raises its axe to strike... I scream in horror, fearing the worst.

And suddenly everything cools again. The sky returns to its steely, calming blue colour, and the guardians reappear in their previous positions. I stand up and glance around - and that's when I see Pipit stood atop one of the raised platforms, breathing heavily as he grins. The spirit vessel that Link holds glows bright, letting us know that it's now full.

"Ok guys..." Link shouts. "We've got as much time as we need now. You can take it easy as you go back to the protective circle - just be careful not to go near waking water!"

Slowly, we all traipse back towards the strange white circle in the ground. My heart is still hammering hard, and my palms are slick with sweat as my hanks shake. In all my life, I've never done anything so terrifying. Once we're all inside the protective circle, Link produces the spirit vessel. Each tear illuminates individually, and the strange object transforms into a golden bud, which then bursts and vanishes, leaving a set of strange red and white gripping claws attached to chains. Link nods approvingly, and pockets the strange contraption. With that, we all make our way back into the central beam of light.

As the whiteness fades, we find ourselves back in the land of Lanayru. I blink slowly, finding myself halted as I grip onto the sword. My body feels numb, tired, uncoordinated, like I've just woken from a really deep sleep. I slowly shake my head as I push myself to my feet. I glance around, and find Fledge stood a few feet away. He's in deep conversation... with Zurin.

"Demon!" Link cries, yanking his sword from the ground and thrusting it towards Zurin.


End file.
